


Choice

by DealingDearie



Series: Choice [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 22:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DealingDearie/pseuds/DealingDearie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki knew they would come for him, sooner or later, but what he didn't count on was a team of superheroes standing by his side when they finally did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Loki walks with about as much grace as he's ever had, sliding past Heimdall without so much as a past-haunted glance, his chin held up high despite the muzzle pulling it down, and Thor's grip on his arm is like acid on his skin. The palace of Asgard reflects the light and its glory nearly blinds him, disgust written in his eyes as he refuses to squint, to give anyone who watches the satisfaction of seeing him uncomfortable.

The rainbow bridge shines up at him, brilliant colors reflecting on his face as they did when he was a boy, bringing a wave of nostalgia with them, and he makes a disagreeing sound in the back of his throat, desperate to keep the memories at bay. The people watch him, their gazes like knives in his back, and he looks straight ahead as Thor swallows nervously, passing through the gates of the palace like he's done so many times before.

They turn down familiar halls, where boys once laughed and played, and he hears the echo of a life once his far in the recesses of his mind, slithering through the corridor as he passes, but he pretends like he doesn't hear a thing, his emerald eyes stoic.

The golden doors at the end of the hall are enormous, sparkling with ancient symbols and magical runes that make Loki's heart ache with memories, and Thor pushes them open to reveal the biggest crowd of people he perhaps as ever seen, hundreds of Asgardians huddled together to witness his fate.

Odin stands tall and proud, as unmovable as any oak, and Frigga stands by his side, her eyes glinting with worry and shock.

The court is filled to the brim with the echoes of hushed murmurs told from trembling lips and he resists the urge to roll his eyes; he will show nothing. Odin looks down at him, his greying eye heavy with something Loki can't quite place, and the staff comes down upon the floor, a wave of silence permeating the air.

The god of mischief stands straighter, prepared for whatever may come on this day of judgment, until a sharp whirring sound pierces the atmosphere, coming from just above the palace.

Loki looks up, then, and, even though none can see, he smiles behind his muzzle.

....

"Remind me why we're here again, Director?" Fury stares at Tony past the giant table they're all seated at, his glare annoyed, and looks to the rest of the team, nodding. "There have been a number of disturbances since Manhattan, all alien and all very lethal. The Council called you in because they want to know what's going on," he says, his voice carrying a hint of remaining ire as Tony pours himself a drink at the newly installed bar, coming over to plop down in a chair beside Bruce.

He takes a drink and swirls the amber liquid around in his glass, looking up at the Director with amusement written in his dark eyes. "So, you want us to take care of some alien business again?" Tony asks causally as Natasha shakes her head at him, her fiery hair shaking against her shoulders.

"Any "alien business" that we take care of usually ends with a lot of explosions and alien blood splattered all over us, so, unless the Council decides that the world is in jeopardy, we should just lay low, wait until the right moment to strike so we can prepare," she offers, purring the words as if the plan is as natural as breathing, and Clint nods in agreement beside her, his bow resting on the table.

"But what if the world is already in jeopardy. The last time aliens came to this world, they didn't give us much time for anything. I think we should act now while this new threat is still small," Steve says, his voice that of command, and his blue eyes are stern as they observe the rest of the team.

Bruce crosses his arms and pushes up the rim of his glasses. "I agree with the captain. We should go ahead and take care of this. What if-"

"What if doesn't apply here, Dr. Banner. What we know is that there have been small alien disturbances and we should-" "How about we just all calm down and talk this-" "Who said you had to say anything?" "Excuse me?"

"HEY!" Fury's booming voice echoes throughout the room, silencing even Tony. Everyone looks to him, their eyes wide with surprise, and Tony smirks behind his glass. "We're investigating this threat", and he looks to Steve with firm resolve, "and no one, I mean no one, is to act upon the aliens unless they pose an immediate danger.

"Just go and check things out and report back in two days," the Director commands, turning sharply and walking out of the room, his black trench coat flapping behind him as he leaves, dead silence in his wake.

...

"I got two over here!" Clint yells, treading through black sludge that he prays is blood and avoiding the various alien body parts spread about the lobby of the hotel. Two aliens lay, thankfully, in one piece and he approaches them with caution, his arrow aimed straight for their faces as it rests against his bow.

He points his flashlight at them, creating a bright beam in the darkness, and recognition creeps into his mind. Chitauri. Clint's eyes go big and round and he backs away quickly, jogging over to Natasha to show her what he's found.

She comes over and nudges one with her foot, relieved when it lands back on the floor, its limbs limp at its side. Clint lifts the communicator to his lips, agitated and angry that this specific alien race has to show up again. "We found two bodies. They're Chitauri," he informs the team.

Soon, they all surround him, gazing down at the two corpses that managed to not get blown up in the giant, unexplained blast that happened a few hours ago. "Did you find anything else?" Bruce asks absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the lobby as they search for shadows in the darkness.

"No," Steve sighs, "nothing yet." Tony walks over to Steve and leans down to inspect the bodies, squinting as he reaches out to touch one.

"What are you doing, Stark?!" Steve yells, trying to grab Tony's hand. "You'll ruin the evidence!" Tony plucks a small disc from its hiding place, nestled in the hand of one of the aliens, and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, because being blown up keeps the evidence in tip top shape."

Steve frowns at the sarcasm until his eyes fall on the object in Tony's hand. "What's that?" The billionaire gives Steve a look that really needs no explaining and starts to push the metallic buttons on the oval shaped disc, thumbs sliding against the black blood covering it.

He frowns in disgust just before an explosion throws them all off their feet, blasting apart three of the columns in the charred lobby, and Clint lands against debris, groaning at the pain in his spine before everything goes black.

...

"Stark?! Stark, answer me!" "Captain, Banner?!" Romanoff, report!" "Agent Barton!?"

...

Bruce groans as his eyes flutter open, blinking at the dusty light filtering in from the cracks in the roof. His shoulder feels like someone just ran it through with a sword and red blooms in his vision as he twists, trying to push himself up from the pieces of wood he's had the unfortunate experience of landing on.

He crawls across the floor, blood trickling down his sleeve, and he sees Natasha, thrown over one of the fallen columns from the last explosion, her head dangling off the side. He makes it over to her and shakes her awake, her moans filled with pain as she opens her eyes.

"Clint!" she yells, a trace of concern slithering into her voice at the silence. "Clint!" Bruce can see the man move, pushing a piece of the popcorn stand off of his chest, and Natasha's dirty face relaxes with relief at the sight. The communicator on Stark's belt blares loudly, static filling the lobby as Fury's voice comes on.

"Stark, are you there?" Tony shifts, trying to sit up, and he shouts in alarm as his joints flare up with pain. He leans against the wall and grabs his communicator, lifting it up to his mouth. "Yeah. I'm here," and he looks around, frantically searching for Steve, "I think we're all here," he pants, resting his head against the wall as Steve clumsily climbs out of a pile of burnt paper and charred wood, sending Tony a glare that speaks volumes.

Tony smiles weakly. "I guess I shouldn't have hit that button."

...

The chaos, the panicked rush that Loki so enjoys, comes soon after the Chitauri start dropping through the roof like it's water, dissolving out of nowhere and landing in front everyone faster than the blink of an eye. If Loki was not Loki, he might have enough audacity to say he's surprised, but his name is spoken within rumors and he has a reputation to uphold.

Mjolnir is out in a flash, cracking with electricity and magic as thunder rolls overhead, and Frigga pulls out a sword from a holster made into the throne. Loki snorts at that, as if she could last even a moment against them. Thor notices his reaction and looks to him with an odd glint in his ocean blue eyes just before Odin brings his spear down, a surge of power nearly knocking everyone down.

His voice is almost lost to the frightened screams around them, but one of the Chitauri speaks above the noise, its voice crackling with misuse, the voice of a demon that haunts you at night, or perhaps the demon that haunts Loki at night, chases him into the dark corners of his mind where he never escapes, where he can wake up and live his days an empty shell because he is trapped in that same dark, horrifying corner.

The Other, his voice so familiar it makes Loki tremble in his boots, speaks loud and clear. "We want the traitor," it says, its voice dangerously smooth, hissing between breaths. Loki feels the remaining color drain from his face. They came, and they came for him.

Odin immediately looks to his two sons, somehow catching on, and it's like he can taste his once-son's fear.

"You shall not have him. He is to go on trial for his crimes against the nine realms," Odin says calmly, completely ignoring the fact that his wife holds a sword in the air, pointed straight for The Other.

The alien laughs, or growls, or hisses, or whatever that sound is that escapes it, and Loki wants more than anything for the chains around his wrists to be removed, for him to be free, for him to be ready to run. But Thor's hand is like a vice grip wrapped around his arm, digging into his skin, and the chains that bind his ankles are like weights drowning him as he sinks into the ocean, forever struggling to no avail.

And the muzzle. _The muzzle._

It holds his tongue down and blocks his words from unwilling ears, takes away his voice and renders him powerless, and no one seems to care. Except The Other. It looks to Loki with the glint of a promise in those glassy eyes, a promise of pain and torture and Thanos.

"We will have him, Asgardian, even if it means burning this realm to ashes. Nothing will be able to protect him; not you, not the thunder god, and definitely not that team of mortals." It turns back to Odin, tilting its head as it points at the man.

"Will you remain reluctant to give the traitor up?" Odin doesn't miss a beat. "Yes." The Other hisses in response and a staff appears in its hand, similar to the one Loki wielded on Midgard, and it sparkles a brilliant blue.

He points it at Odin, sparks igniting around the jewel nestled inside the top, and a blast of energy shoots toward the All-Father, speeding past everyone as they watch in horror. Before Odin has time to react, a blur of movement whirs in front of him, blocking the blow, and it skids across the floor, smoking.

Everyone turns in a frenzy and Loki feels time stop as his heart freezes, as he catches the glint of a sword shining over to the side, a sword so familiar to him because it was always resting within the holster of the All-Father's throne, his green eyes glassy as they stare down at the one person who truly loved him, her golden dress burnt and torn, fading fast into ashes.

Frigga.

The resentment, the anger and hatred that always lingered within Loki, slips through his fingers like sand, his eyes wide, shining with the look of shock as screams erupt throughout the room, people scattering like ants as they run for their lives.

Loki stands still, the chains around him feeling heavier than anvils, watching as his mother stares up at him with glassy eyes, blue oceans turned into grey storms as her face fades away from him, his vision turning an angry shade of red, the sudden need, the sudden pull, to take revenge bubbling up inside of him as he turns to Odin, who stares down at his wife with the utmost sorrow written on his face.

Thor immediately jumps into action, throwing his hammer at all the Chitauri he can hit, sending a bolt of lightning crashing toward The Other, and Loki looks up at Odin, standing by his golden throne, looking horribly lost and alone, just as Loki has been his entire life. He meets the trickster's eyes and, in that single stare, the meaning behind Loki's gaze is not lost to the All-Father.

That look is one of desperation, of thick sorrow pushed aside by fast flowing rage that seeps into the blood, Loki's hands curling into tight fists in front of him, his wrists chafing against the manacles that hold him there. Odin stands tall, unfazed by the chaos around him, and he doesn't even blink when another bolt of lightning whips past him, aimed for anything Thor can hit, the boom of thunder and crackle of energy surrounding them all.

Time freezes, screams slowing in the air, and Loki thinks, for a moment, that Odin will not comply, that he will let his golden son fight something he can't possibly hope to defeat, something that will take his life just as it took their mother's, and the rage returns like a tidal wave, crashing into him with full force as Odin blinks, noticing how Loki's eyes flash crimson, the monster within him waking at long last.

Odin slams his staff down on the floor, but it stops no one, and Loki's manacles fall from his limbs, the muzzle oppressing his tongue clinking against the golden marble, his eyes alight with bloodlust as his skin turns a dark shade of blue. The Other looks up from his struggle with Thor, throwing the thunder god against the wall with a blast of magic, and his black eyes shine with surprise.

The feral grin Loki sends his way, razor sharp teeth glinting in the light, leaves nothing to the imagination.

...

Steve paces around the conference table, his red, white, and blue outfit smudged and torn from the explosion, and Tony points to the map of the hotel clipped to one of the posters hanging around the room. "Why would they detonate the bomb when it was right beside them?" Tony asks, his dark eyes shining with disbelief. "That's just stupid."

Bruce pushes up his glasses, wincing as they scrape against one of the many cuts across his face. "That bomb hadn't been detonated yet. Maybe they planned to blow up another part of the lobby when they were farther away, but someone else blew them up before they could," he offers. Natasha shakes her head, frowning. "Another alien? Why would they do that to their own race? That doesn't make any sense", she says, leaning into her hand as she tries to avoid using her injured arm, "Maybe they were on a suicide mission. That would be more practical."

Clint nods beside her as Steve stops his pacing, whipping around to look at the map, analyzing it, his blue eyes flickering to every corner as they all look at him, curious gazes burning into his back. "Got something there, Capsicle?" Tony questions, smirking at how silent the Captain is being. "Maybe it was a suicide mission", Steve murmurs as he walks closer to the map, his finger pointed to the lobby, "to cover something up." Tony rolls his eyes. "What would aliens cover up? Their plan to destroy the world a second time, which, let me remind you, failed," Tony says, leaning back in his chair.

"Maybe…" Bruce trails off, lost in his thoughts as Clint stares at him. "Maybe there were just a bunch of aliens that got blown up. End of story," Clint offers, annoyed at the pain that lingers in his bones. Steve stands there for a long time, silently staring at the map, and shakes his head.

"I think we need to talk to Thor about this."

...

Thor is late, his hair tangled and wet from the rain that's pounding against the roof, and Natasha thinks for a moment that the water on his face isn't just from the rain, his blue eyes lit up with something strong, something devoted. Steve smiles in welcome as the god walks across the room, his crimson cape dragging across the ground.

Thor pulls Steve into a giant bear hug, wrapping his burly arms around the captain with a forced smile on his face.

"It's good to see you, my friends," he bellows, his loud voice echoing in the small room, bouncing off the windows and making Tony wince.

Bruce waves in greeting and Thor releases Steve to smile down at them, running a hand through his messy blonde tangles. He spreads his arms out wide, as if to encompass the whole building, and shakes his head.

"Much has happened since we left. I must tell you all-"

"Yeah, that would be nice and everything, if we didn't have the threat of another war on our heels," Tony interrupts, his voice deadpan and his eyes no more emotionless.

Thor's arms fall in surprise, eyebrows raised, a frown pulling down his features.

"What?" Thor asks, swallowing nervously.

"Yeah", Tony stands and walks up to him, hands in his pockets, "Apparently, there are some more aliens and we don't know what they're up to. We have to assume the worst," he states, shrugging, as Thor looks to the doorway, shaking his head urgently.

His blue eyes flicker from the team to the hall and he sighs, frustrated with something.

"Surely this can be explained. If you'd just let me tell you-"

"We might seriously have a war here, Thor, maybe even a repeat of Manhattan," Natasha cuts in, standing up and planting her hands on her hips, a rigid posture that gives Thor pause.

He tilts his head and looks back to the doorway, chewing on his bottom lip.

"It's at least a good thing your crazy brother is locked up. We won't have to deal with him if push comes to shove," Clint laughs, standing beside Natasha.

Bruce looks around him and stands just to stand, pushing up his glasses as he nods at Clint's words. Thor opens his mouth to say something, his eyes bright with warning, but a sudden shadow behind him stops everyone in their tracks.

"Actually, I'm quite enjoying my freedom," Loki says, stepping beside Thor from behind, and everyone leaps into action, bows and guns and lasers and shields being whipped out simultaneously, all aimed straight for the god's face, deadly precision promised in each one, and Thor steps in front of his brother with haste, throwing his hands up in the air.

"My friends! I know you may have your quarrels with him, but my brother must not be harmed!" Thor looks around him, desperately trying to gouge a response, but they all look at him like he's insane.

"Thor, whatever he's done to you, whatever spell you're under, it's not you; it's Loki. Just step away and we'll take care of it," Steve murmurs dangerously, his voice cast low in the silence, and Thor gives him a look just as Loki laughs, mocking them, his maniacal chuckles seeping into the hallway.

His dark hair has grown longer, his bright green eyes shining with mirth, and his armor is damaged, torn in places and smudged with blood in others. His face is gaunt, his eyes shadowed, and there are cuts all across his cheeks, blood coating his fingertips and running down the side of his mouth, which is torn at the corners, flesh ripped by invisible blades, and his smile is ruthless, blood spurting from the wounds as his laughs nearly fade into coughs, blood trickling down his throat. He hunches over a bit, clutching his ribs, before glancing up at the Avengers with a cruel gaze.

"Thor is not under my control, you idiots."

He glances at Steve, walking up to the bright shield the captain holds, resting his chin against it as if daring the selfish man to slit his throat with its razor sharp edge, and Steve swallows, despite himself.

"If he were under my command, you would all be dead by now. Seeing as you", he moves on to rest his forehead against Natasha's gun, his eyes bright as they stare into hers, "all still, unfortunately, take your next breaths, Thor is of his own free will."

Loki moves on to stand in front of Tony's lasers, staring down the blue light coming from his iron man suit with a smirk settling on his bloodied lips.

"As he was trying to tell you earlier, much has happened since we left Midgard. You might want to sit down and listen to what he has to say."

He slides over to stare down Clint's deadly arrow, the point nicking the skin of his forehead, and he smiles sharply.

"Or what I have to say. It matters not to me," he murmurs, silky undertones masking all the poison of a lethal snake.

Thor steps forward and wraps a hand around Loki's arm and the hissing wince is not lost to them, Loki's face flashing with warning as he stares at his one-time brother, the spark of something left hovering unsaid between them, and Steve blinks, shaking his head to rid himself of his confusing thoughts.

"What is this, Thor?" Tony asks, annoyed at everyone and everything as his lasers grow a brighter blue. Thor lifts his hands in defense and dips his head, as if ashamed.

"The Chitauri ambushed Asgard. They came during Loki's trial, their leader set on taking Loki from us, and", Thor and Loki both share that same agonized look in the depths of their eyes, "our mother was slain in the process. We fought them off as best we could, but Father was in such shock that he didn't think to aid us. We were losing and so many Asgardians were dying."

Thor looks to his hands sadly, shaking his head with sorrow. A light, though, comes to his face, making him give the team a small smile as he gestures to Loki, a statue cast in shadow behind him.

"But Loki fought off their leader, The Other, as he's called, and they vanished," Thor explains, beaming at Loki and turning to the team to shake his head.

"He saved us."

No one looks very impressed and Natasha opens her mouth to say something, trying to cut the silence, but Thor stops her with a hand, his jaw set with anger.

"Loki saved all of Asgard and you still deny him the chance to speak without weapons aimed at him?"

Thor's voice is laced with disbelief and he stares at them, his eyes wide.

"You must give him a chance. He may know things concerning the aliens that came to Asgard, maybe even the aliens that were here. He is a valuable asset, my friends. You must not waste this opportunity by letting your feelings get in the way of your judgment," he pleads desperately, frowning. Iron Man lowers his arm, the lasers going out, and the face plate lifts up with a hiss to reveal his trademark smirk.

"You're really one to talk, Point Break," he mutters, making Thor look away with worry.

The tension sizzles into a small buzz and everyone slowly lowers their weapons, all except Clint. He aims his arrow straight for Loki's eye socket, shaking, until Natasha puts a warm hand on his arm, easing it down. He sighs and sits in a chair, placing his weapons on the table, his hands curled into fists as he glares at the dark haired god. Bruce follows suit and soon everyone but the two brothers is sitting, if rigidly, in their seats, all staring up at the pair expectantly. Thor sends them a relieved smile and steps in front of the table.

"The Chitauri disappeared from Asgard, along with their leader, only because of Loki. I strongly agree with the idea of perhaps using him as a counsel of sorts."

He looks around eagerly, reminding Bruce of a giant, excited puppy.

"And what if he kills us all?" Tony asks, glancing at his teammates. "We all know that murder isn't exactly below him," he murmurs, smirking triumphantly at the both of them.

"It isn't," Loki steps in, frowning.

"But if I were you, a wounded soldier in a war you can't possibly begin to fathom, I'd take all the help I could get."

Tony stands quickly, planting his hands on the table.

"I'm not a soldier," he mutters angrily, pointing at the captain. "Not like Rogers. And who says we can't understand this war. We've handled extraterrestrial battles before; I think we can do it again," he purrs, smirking.

Loki rolls his eyes and steps in front of the table, shaking his head in pity.

"So, you can understand, then, Stark, that there is a certain artifact that, if held in the wrong hands, can be used to destroy not only Midgard, but every realm in all the galaxies in all the universe and that an ancient entity more powerful than all of you combined is hell bent on retrieving it?"

One eyebrow raised, a smirk on his crimson covered lips, Loki nods, the devil in disguise, at Tony's silence and hums to himself in satisfaction.

"I didn't think so."

...

Loki's slender finger comes to rest on the map of the lobby, still clipped to a poster, and he clicks his tongue in boredom. "The aliens you saw in the hotel are Chitauri, the same kind you faced in Manhattan", and he eyes everyone warily, as if waiting for an ambush, "and the very same ones that swarmed Asgard yesterday." Thor chews on his nails at the table, worry shining in his eyes, and Steve watches, rapt with attention.

Loki shakes his head, dark locks falling from his shoulders, and shrugs, lost to his thoughts. "There is a being, an ancient entity that dwells in the shadowed realms, and he aims to collect an artifact from the weapons vault of Asgard, the Infinity Gauntlet, to either control the realms, or destroy them. He is very powerful, and the Chitauri were just a small bit of his army," he says, frowning in concentration as he looks to the map.

"You mean to tell us that the army, the alien worms and the spaceships and the lasers, all of that, wasn't even a quarter of the real threat?" Bruce asks, his voice laced with disbelief and panic. Loki nods and opens his mouth to say something, but Thor interrupts him. "And if we want to defeat this new threat, I suggest we ask my brother for his assistance, seeing as he's the only one to have interacted with this being."

The team looks to one another and Thor smiles up at Loki, the dark haired man narrowing his eyes, wondering what Thor's up to. As if he would ever help the mortals fight Thanos, the creature that shaped his will into something that was anything but free, that took his mind and gave him endless knowledge of ancient times beyond his imaginings. Loki scoffs in the silence.

"I will not help you defeat Thanos. I will not aid you pathetic mortals only to be squashed by his power. If I were you, I would find a place to hide while there is still a place left, because when Thanos comes, when he decimates this realm just as he will all the others, you will be begging for something as sweet as death. Perhaps staying on his good side will help you to achieve that," Loki spats angrily, emerald eyes bright and wild. Thor stands, his brow furrowed.

"Come now, Loki," he pleads, his voice filled with fresh grief.

But before he can reason with the god, Loki's body is racked with coughs that splatter blood across his hands, his thin, bony shoulders shaking, and he collapses in a lifeless heap as Thor yells, rushing to his brother's side.


	2. Chapter 2

The monitor is loud, beeping incessantly in the quiet infirmary, and Loki's head pounds as he opens his eyes, greeted by blinding light. He moans, blinking rapidly, as a burst of pain shoots through his ribs, making him wince. He starts to roll over, gritting his teeth, but he glances to his side and spots Thor, sitting in a chair with his hands nervously clasped together, eyes flicking about him guiltily, as if this is all his fault, and Loki sighs in frustration.

Thor looks up at the noise and a wide smile pulls the skin on his face, bright eyes shining as he laughs, reaching out as if to take Loki's hand but finally thinking better of it, falling back in his chair with a light thud. Loki struggles to sit up, resting his back against the downy pillows halfway through the action, panting, as a new wave of pain attacks him. Thor gently pulls him the rest of the way up, muttering apologies the whole time, and sits back down quietly, his familiar blue eyes shining with concern. Loki remembers a time when he would have laughed at Thor, when he would have lightly punched his brother on the shoulder with a smile, but the memory is plagued with the shadows of his parents, of a fair Frigga and stern Odin, and the thought leaves him bitter as he frowns at Thor, rolling his eyes.

"You look like a puppy left out in the rain," he whispers, voice hoarse.

Thor cracks a smile and laughs, shaking his head.

"I was worried, brother. You can't just go collapsing on me."He scoots his chair closer to the bed, looking down at his hands.

"I knew that you needed medical attention. Forgive me for not getting any for you, Loki." He stares up at the god with a hopeful expression on his face and Loki doesn't know what he would have said if the Captain hadn't of strolled in, red gloves a stark contrast to the white sheet he pulls back, his shoes clicking against the floor. He wastes no time, no hint of concern in the icy blue of his eyes, and Loki finds it in himself to smirk.

"We need everything you know on the Chitauri and their goals, as well as Thanos." He stands straight and looks at Loki expectantly, eyes skimming over the bandages wrapped around his torso, stitches on his face that Loki has yet to notice, and if he wasn't over 70 years old, he would be trembling in his boots, like a child scared of the dark, at the grotesque way the stitches at his mouth turn up when he smiles. Loki shrugs and they all wince at the strange popping sounds that accompany the motion.

"I would tell you, you know, but I really must be going", and he pushes the sheets aside with as much speed as he dares, sore muscles screaming in protest, and swings his aching legs off of the bed, glad that he's wearing pants, and realizes that he isn't wearing a shirt and frowns at the thought of not noticing before, "but in such difficult times, a man must fend for himself." He rips out the IV with annoyance and a wave of dizziness sweeps over him as he wonders what Midgardian medicine they've given him to make him feel this nauseous. The floor tiles are cold as he stands, eyeing Steve like a tumor as he slides past, and Thor turns his head to watch Loki with disappointment.

"Loki, you can help. You can lend us your knowledge and assistance and in return, we'll grant you sanctuary," he offers quietly.

Loki scoffs and turns to meet his brother's unwavering gaze, green eyes lit with rage.

" _Sanctuary_ ," and he says it like a heavy poison on his tongue, acidic and venomous, "You must be insane, to think that I would ever choose your company over my own. I can protect myself. You can't, obviously, since I had to fight off The Other in Asgard while you were busy fighting the measly Chitauri with your stupid hammer. I only told that pathetic team of yours what I knew because I wanted to see what they would do. They're not very entertaining, by the way."

He walks out, or tries to, but his legs seem to stop working, feet and knees going weak with numbness, and he plummets to the floor, his spine losing feeling, all his nerves in shock, as Natasha slides out from behind a curtain, as stealthy as ever, and grabs the IV line, where the liquid drips onto the tiles, and Loki realizes that it looks wrong, looks…brown.

He falls back into Thor's arms, familiar warmth enveloping him as he closes his eyes, too tired to act upon the rage igniting within him.

...

The hospital lights mock him as he tries yet again to lift his arms, any progress he might make only to be stopped by the tightening of the restraints around his wrists. He curls his hands into fists and stares up at Natasha, furious, and she smirks triumphantly.

"Now, Loki," Thor begins, sitting where he was before. "This was only a measure planned in the event that you failed to cooperate. We can let you go, but you must swear to help us." His voice is calm, hopeful, and Loki looks at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Are you thick?" Loki asks, incredulous, and shakes his head wildly, trying his best to rock the bed as he moves his body from side to side with a frustrated yell.

"This is insane! Now I'll NEVER cooperate!" Thor winces as his brother screams at them, shaking his head. "You'll hurt yourself, Loki. Calm down." "NO!" Natasha crosses her arms and moves to tighten the restraints, but Loki's head snaps to her, his neck moving with a sickening crack, and he all but growls at her.

"If you so much as dare touch those damned restraints, I will make good on my bargain to you and Agent Barton will die, one way or the other." Natasha blinks at him and relaxes in her seat, her dark eyes stoic. Thor sighs, exasperated, and Loki turns his gaze, meeting the blue eyes of his once brother.

"You'll get a position on the team, Loki. We'll help you if you help us." Natasha opens her mouth to protest but Thor silences her with a look, his eyes suddenly the eyes of a very wise, very old king, reminding Loki so much of his fath-Odin. Reminding him of the hatred he harbors for the both of them. Loki shakes his head, sighing.

"No." It's far too final, Thor thinks, for a man so volatile, so unpredictable, and he doesn't believe the trickster for a moment. He nods, unconvinced, and leaves, beckoning Natasha as they exit the small infirmary room, booming footsteps fading into nothing, and Loki throws his head back against the pillows, closing his eyes in anger.

...

It takes two days of sudden noises and startling slams for Loki to become skittish.

...

It takes two more for him to panic, eyes darting back and forth, worried that he might look to his right and see Thanos, standing at his bedside with an evil smirk, a torture device in his hand.

...

It takes three more days for Loki to regain his strength and reluctantly agree.

...

Tony adjusts his Iron Man suit, which really needs no adjusting, just to show off, and looks up at Loki with a confident smirk plastered on his face. Natasha and Clint both roll their eyes and shake their heads, unimpressed. Bruce shifts from foot to foot, anticipating a battle, and takes off his glasses, rubbing his eyes with exhaustion. Thor looks over to Loki, both of them dressed in battle armor, and the horns of Loki's helmet curl into the air, graceful and lethal, and he rolls his shoulders against the heavy metal of his armor, frowning. The Captain grips his shield beside them, his face mask reflecting in the light, and looks to Loki, expectant.

"Where to?" Steve says, blue eyes shining with nervous curiosity.

"In order to get the Infinity Gauntlet from Asgard's weapons vault, I need to visit one of the shadow realms and get a certain amulet. It can track the Gauntlet, so if it's hidden in some unseen place, we'll have no trouble locating it," he explains, staring into empty space. Thor looks alarmed.

"A shadow realm? Isn't that where Thanos comes from, the darkest, most forgotten corners of the realms?" He swallows and Loki looks to him, a nearly genuine smile coming to his face. "The space between worlds, where even the most horrible nightmares seem like the best of dreams." Thor opens his mouth to respond, or perhaps warn against what Loki's about to do, but Loki is quicker than Thor's slow tongue.

He waves his hand and the air literally tears before their very eyes, opening up to reveal absolute darkness, and he makes a small gesture to make the hole wider, an icy chill sweeping throughout the room. He turns to the rest of the team.

"When we enter the portal, I would suggest closing your eyes." Tony is about to retort but Loki holds up a finger. "The passage to the shadow realms is plagued with nightmarish creatures and immense horrors. Unless you want to be permanently haunted by the things that lie beyond here, I suggest closing your eyes." Tony rolls his eyes, giving Loki a lingering, cautious look, before letting his eyelids fall. Loki takes a deep breath, emerald eyes shining with fear, before linking hands with Thor, who links hands with Steve, who links hands with Natasha.

After everyone is holding hands, Loki steps through the portal, pulling everyone along with him, and a ghastly cackle echoes throughout the room as the tear closes behind them.

...

Loki should feel relief at leaving Midgard, but all he feels is dread, creeping up his spine with all the familiarity of a close kept lover, and he opens his eyes reluctantly, releasing Thor's hand as if it's poison to his pale skin.

Shadows curl at his feet, bowing to his presence, and he ignores the shouts of alarm from behind him, the all too human habit of freaking out over the tiniest thing. Or not so tiny, Loki reminds himself as he stares at the serpent before them, slithering across the ground in a lazy trail. Black sludge sinks into the ground in its wake and its long, gigantic body blends in with the dark backdrop.

It slowly turns its head and Loki recognizes the devilishly beady eyes, the fangs that protrude at least a foot from its drooling maw. He has only a moment to recall the memory-the image of finally, blessedly landing on solid ground, winded by his fall from grace, struggling with monsters and beasts as hideous as any nightmare come true, teeth sinking painfully into his flesh, screams echoing long into the night-before the monster rears up on its tail, bending like it has no skeleton, and whips out at them faster than anything Loki's used to.

He manages to dodge out of the way quickly, but Thor isn't so lucky. The end of a jagged tooth catches him on the shoulder and he grunts in pain as he's flung to the side, landing against a towering rock with far too much force. Loki feels a protest coming up, but stops himself. Why should he care if the oaf gets injured? The Avengers, brave, selfless Avengers, scatter like ants, flying into the air and running behind rocks with weapons aimed uselessly. Natasha takes the first shot and, if Loki hadn't been so distracted by his own conflicted thoughts, he would have slapped her right across the face, propriety be damned.

The gunshot echoes, horribly loud, and the serpent opens its gaping jaws and screeches, piercing the atmosphere with its cries of annoyance. And that's all it is; annoyance. Loki growls in anger and rushes to the Black Widow, holding his hand back so as not to cause another unnecessary fight, and his eyes are burning in the darkness.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Loki rages, trying to keep his voice at a rushed whisper, fury thickening his accent as she stares, incredulous.

"There's a giant snake attacking us and you don't want me to shoot it?" Natasha argues, her dark eyes shaded, face flushed with the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Loki's claim of attracting attention is lost as Thor throws his hammer at the monster, lightning crackling at his behest, and the weapon rips straight through the beast, tearing a nasty hole in its side, and it screams in agony as Steve throws his shield into its eyes socket, hoping he won't have to retrieve it. Clint's too busy with his arrows to notice Loki's anger, so close to nearing desperate panic that it's laughable, and Loki shakes with rage.

He sends a burst of magic into the air and knocks the slithering creature on its back, or what he hopes is its back, and it squirms as it struggles to get back up. The force sends the team to the ground, taking the breath out of all of them, and for a moment, the air is still, dormant fear settling in the harsh wind, and Loki knows the silence far too well, knows it because it lives within his mind, haunting him and making him fear the dark more than he ever did as a boy.

Thor stands quickly, anger filling his vision, but he catches Loki's face, his true face, the one he grew up with, the one he learned to cherish more than his own life, and the fear written in those emerald depths chills Thor to his very bones.

A hissing sound emanates from a place close behind Loki and he knows it instantly, knows it because it's the reason he has a long scar across his abdomen, where he nearly died trying to escape the peril of this land, and he straightens his back with cold calculation.

A creature twice the size of the giant, dazed serpent rears up behind the god, its monstrous teeth dripping black ichor, and lunges not for Loki, but for Thor.

Loki feels the wind above his head and can sense the claws nearly as long as he is tall scrape against his scalp, opening the skin there. He doesn't cry out, doesn't feel it, because all he can see is Thor. Thor, who has a lady waiting for him in Midgard, blue eyes that shine with hope, a smile fiercer than the sun, and a temper to match that for which he was named. His brother by all but blood, deep love and soft laughter and kind heart, and Loki cannot stand the thought of such bright happiness extinguished from this world forever.

He's already lost Frigga.

He won't lose Thor, too.

Loki runs as fast as he did the day he last came here and shoves Thor out of the way, pulling from the air a magic staff, sharp blade shining at the end, and turns just in time to witness the animal's horrific jaws closing in on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)


	3. Chapter 3

 

The steps jar him, ripping through his hips like a sharp knife, and he grunts in protest at the harsh rocks beneath his feet, poking so far into the soles of his boots that he can feel it in his feet. Thor's arm is wrapped protectively around Loki's waist, hoisting his brother up as best as he can, blood dripping from various places, seeping through his emerald armor. Thor's helmet managed to stay on throughout the fight, but Loki's is nowhere to be seen, sure to be floating in some dark corner of the realm, blood spattered and damaged, horns bent at odd angles.

Loki tries his best to keep his eyes open, eyelids feeling warm and heavy, and blinks rapidly, feeling dazed and nauseous. The team hobbles after him, scratched and bloody, angrily muttered complaints floating through the air. His staff is gone, most likely in the belly of the dead creature, or the throat, Loki thinks viciously. He leans on Thor to let him know they need to turn, slows when they need to stop, all to direct him to the one place he truly doesn't want to go, the only place in the whole world that he actively avoids, memories swimming to the surface with unrelenting speed.

They all follow the pair with cautious reluctance, eyes darting back and forth, wary of monstrous serpents and demonic creatures, as they finally come upon a giant mountain, purple in the hazy darkness, a light dusting of grey snow covering the tip. Thor spares his brother a questioning glance, but Loki's gaze is like ice, flickering in and out of focus with all the hostility of a well hated enemy.

Thor sighs ins response and trudges up a horribly steep hill, bracing against the wind and the weight at his side, the ever increasing pressure of his brother's body as he slowly loses consciousness, slipping into oblivion as Thor tries his best to get them all up the mountain. Loki seems to be awake, eyes closed but lids fluttering franticly, and Thor rests against the side of the mountain, panting as he watches Loki nearly slide to the ground.

A pair of burly hands catches at his shoulders and he's pulled back up, snatching at the footholds in the mountain as he presses a hand to a black spot there. The team watches with interest, but it's tense and electric, ready to explode at any moment.

The ground shifts below them and the mountain rumbles, the spot Loki touched caving in on itself until a gaping hole stares back at them, bits of rock rolling off the mountain and into the darkness below, and everyone looks at each other, too curious to warn against it, and they follow a limping, nearly collapsed Loki and Thor into the shadowed entrance.

...

The first thing Loki notices is that his vision has turned red, or green, or perhaps yellow.

It shifts from one to the other far too much for him to concentrate on a single color. They're greeted by a dome-like room, branching off into dark hallways at the end, and the candles lining the walls burn like beacons, candlelight dancing across his vision as he begins to see stars. He shakes, sweat matted to his forehead, and he knows that if it weren't for Thor holding him up, he would be a lifeless heap upon the floor.

But then a woman walks in, melting out of the shadows just as he remembers, ivy green heels clicking against the grey stone floor, and her luscious hair glints like gold in the dimly lit room, blue eyes sparking with recognition and masked intelligence, startling beauty mixed with cunning deception. Thor furrows his eyebrows, eyes glinting with warning, as if he knows who the woman is without ever meeting her, and Loki's breaths are more labored than before as he meets her stare. She plants her hands firmly on her hips, crinkling her dark green corset, and her mouth turns up in a teasing smile as she walks toward them with purpose, tight leather pants reflecting against the candlelight.

"Loki," she purrs. All paws and no claws, Loki thinks, and he manages his trademark smirk. "How unfortunate that every time we happen to come across one another, you're almost to the brink of death", and she stops just in front of him, making a disappointed noise with her tongue, a sultry pout on her face, "and I always end up with bloodstains on my floor."

She gestures to her concrete floor, as if bloodstains matter to her, and shakes her head, blonde waves bouncing against her back. Thor shakes his head, giving Loki a lasting glance.

"I'm sorry, but I-I do not know you, Lady…?" She lifts her chin, blue eyes vibrant, and Thor swears that they turn purple, tendrils of violet curling into the irises, but he blinks and the image is lost to him.

"Amora. _The Enchantress_ , if you want to address me properly," she states, eyes never wavering from his stare. Loki grunts as a new wave of pain rushes through his body, nearly taking him to his knees.

He really should be immune to pain, after all the kind he's been through, he thinks bitterly. Thor, as if suddenly remembering him, spares him a quick glance. He looks back to Amora. "Would you be so kind, Enchantress, as to give us your aid and," Thor looks around him with reluctance, "lodging?"

Amora bursts into self-satisfied laughter and nods half-heartedly, smiling at them.

"As much as that devil of a god has appeared upon my doorstep in need of aid and lodging, why would I turn him down now?" She points a slender finger, green nails sparkling with gold glitter, at one of the long corridors leading from the room.

"Go through there. Loki knows the path well, don't you, pet?" Amora asks, eyeing the god like a new toy as they hobble to the hallway, quickly disappearing into total darkness.

...

Thor's arm is tight, nearly suffocating, around Loki's middle, his grip getting stronger by the minute as Loki's willpower slowly dwindles, his ability to keep his eyes open quickly dropping into oblivion, and Thor's eyes shine with concern in the darkness as they all limp down the hall, the small candles attached to the walls giving the place an eerie glow.

Loki won't say where to turn, isn't really even able to, and Thor has to guess at the first doorway he comes to, bright light emanating from the room and shining against their eyes. Water is dripping somewhere in the distance, echoing through the small space they've managed to squeeze into, reminding Thor of some long abandoned place, and perhaps it is, but when he turns into the doorway, what he sees is anything but abandoned.

Bright, vivid color meets his eyes, harsh after so long in the dim light, silvery drapes thrown across a nonexistent window, colorful books full of pictures of distant lands lying all over the floor, pages facing open and dog eared at the corners, different languages scrawled across the walls in messy handwriting, candles placed at every available space, eerie lights in different colors dancing in flames, green and red and blue and purple tendrils flickering across the floor in odd shadows that seem to have no source.

Thor squints at the assault and looks to his right, where a woman sits in a chair, ivy crawling across the back and vines twisting around the legs. Her shoulders are small, hunched over whatever it is she's reading, and her pale face is half hidden by the wall of moonlight hair falling from her shoulders, brushing against the green silk delicately wrapped around her slender frame, and her soft murmurs float through the room, her rosy lips softly moving in tune with the words she reads, her thin finger resting against the page, held in the air as if to flip to the next one, and she looks up, startled, her lips parted in surprise at the people in the doorway. Her silvery eyes are like mirrors, fragile glass reflecting in their fathomless depths, and her cheeks are ashen, her face so white it looks as if it has no color, and her ears are pointed at the tops, peeking through her pale hair.

Loki's breath hitches against Thor's ribs and he looks to his brother, sagging against his armor, his face as white as paper, green eyes lit with a flame he hasn't seen in a long time. Loki might say that his breath is hitching because of how much blood he's lost, is losing, and how little breath he actually does have left, but he would be lying.

The flicker of her eyes, the soul he sees written there as they widen in recognition, pulls at his heart with aching familiarity, his eyes running down her face, soft hair he once buried his face into, brushed back to reveal an equally soft neck, pale skin he once kissed, laughter echoing in his mind just as it once did in his life, gentle smiles and hands held through the night, a reassuring glint in those shining irises.

She blinks at him, as if dazed, and lets the book fall from her lap, quickly standing from her chair, and the team eyes her warily, wondering how they're going to deal with all these people from a different world, looking far too much like aliens for their liking. She breathes his name, soft spoken like a desperate prayer, and his heart pounds in his chest.

"Loki."

Thor raises his eyebrow and shakes his head, giving his brother a sideways glance. "Lady Amora told us to come here for aid. As you can see, my brother is gravely injured," he starts, voice loud in the silence, and the woman looks at him as if she didn't realize he was there, and nods quickly, swallowing.

"Yes, of course." She gestures to the bed tucked in the corner of the room, watching Thor with a confused gaze as he practically carries Loki to the bed, gently setting him down with care, and steps back to look at the woman expectantly.

She walks over to a small shelf resting between the candles on the wall and gets all kinds of tools, her arms full of needles and cord and towels and bowls, and she hurriedly walks over to the bedside, dragging her chair with her, and sets everything down on a nearby table. She starts to unbuckle Loki's armor, but she glances behind her, anxiously chewing on her bottom lip, and her eyes fall upon the door.

"I don't very much appreciate attention. If you don't mind…" It's not really a question and the team gladly leaves, murmurs of agitation and complaints echoing in their wake, and Thor hovers, looking to his brother with fresh concern. The woman offers a small smile, one that lights up her face like a candle never could, and gestures to Loki, trying as hard as he can to not only keep his eyes open but avoid her gaze. "He's in good hands, I assure you," she whispers, an accent long faded floating in her voice, like a memory coming to the surface, her soft tone reassuring.

Thor frowns one last time, giving his brother a worried glance, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. The woman turns her attention to gently removing Loki's armor, her fingers working with familiarity, and gasps when she finally sees the wounds. There's a long gash beneath his collarbone, flesh ripped open and fresh blood gushing crimson, and a shallow cut grazes one of his ribs. Two parallel cuts have slit across his abdomen in what is sure to be a very painful wound. She leaves the room in a hurry, leaving Loki alone as he tries to stay awake, and quickly returns with two pails of water, pouring some into a bowl as she dips a towel into it.

She glances at the small cuts covering his face, eyebrows furrowed, and runs a towel lightly over the wounds, wincing as he moans in pain. She cleans the cuts, trying to ignore the pain stricken sounds he makes, and runs a hand over his sweat dampened hair, the inky color a stark contrast to her ashen skin, her silvery nails glinting in the light as she looks down at him. She gets a needle and cord and takes a deep breath as he looks up to her, his dark emerald eyes the same as they always were, his face thinner than she remembers, cheekbones more pronounced, thin shoulders shaking against the mattress, and blood cakes his sallow face.

Her mouth tightens into an unpleasant line as he hoarsely murmurs her name, agony etched into his face, as if begging her to let him die, and she ties the cord onto the needle, bringing it down on his skin, his eyes closing with fresh pain.

Loki finds himself drowning in memories, flashes of Thor and Odin and Frigga, loving smiles and tight hugs and kind eyes staring at him through a haze of pain, echoes of his name from small, smiling lips as they run through the grand halls. The image of silver eyes and silver hair and green wisps of magic curling around them, soft laughter filled with amazement rushing into his ears, a genuine smile pulling on his face as she kisses him, all trust, all love, all everything they could give each other, and the pain nearly goes away, the pain that lies within his heart.

Somewhere in between that thought and the next, the feeling of sharp stinging on his chest, Loki loses himself, darkness swirling around him in a warm embrace, a single name reverberating through his head as he falls into oblivion.

_Sigyn._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)


	4. Chapter 4

"My sisters could not dare look at me, of course." A silky voice pulls Loki from his slumber, throwing him into startlingly painful moments of lucidity as slender fingers gently card through his tangled, ink black hair.

He tries to shove her hand away, weakly resisting her familiar touch, but Sigyn is nothing if not stubbornly determined. He can hear a soft sigh, a cool puff of air against his clammy cheek, and feel the sadness in her light voice. "They said that to look into my eyes was to lose their souls, that the reflection they witnessed there would burn into their own eyes and strip them of their humanity."

Her hand has become still atop his head and he finds himself craving her touch, needing it like he needs his next breath. "I'd never felt so alone, so isolated," Her hand falls and he whimpers, "until you came along," she murmurs fondly, a smile that he cannot see gracing her pale features as she looks down at him, her eyes filled with long-suppressed adoration.

Memories flash behind his eyelids, vivid pictures of glassy eyes and sharp-toothed smiles, tinkling laughter and honey sweet kisses pressed against his temple, all his darkest dreams rearing back at her touch. He wants so much to shed his skin, to escape the monster he's become, to forget all the years that lie dormant within his darkening eyes, but he can't be what he once was, can never be the same man she fell in love with so many years ago, can never be hers again.

The thought takes him far, too far, from her lilting voice, pulls him away from the realm of the living, and he falls, is forever falling, into the dark oblivion of his mind.

...

"Is he waking?"

...

"Give it a rest, Thor. We get that you're worried about him, but constantly hovering over him has to be annoying, even for Loki."

...

"The wounds have to be given time to heal. Only then can we know for certain of his condition.

...

"Such a pity, isn't it pet? Such a waste of a good life."

...

"His heart beat is slowing!"

...

"Do something, Lady Sigyn!"

...

"Such..."

"..a..."

"...waste."

...

The light invades his senses, far too bright to be that of a candle, and Loki gasps, or maybe he doesn't-he can't hear anything, like someone has stuffed cotton inside his ears, blocking him from any noise-and the thought scares him.

He rests against the pillows, pillows that smell faintly of Sigyn's hair, and he searches deep down for the will to keep his eyes open, to blink, and to breathe. He finally looks to his left, his vision adjusting to the light, and Thor is there, clutching Loki's colorless hand with both of his, his forehead resting against his burly fingers as he sobs, soft sounds that remind Thor of when they were boys, scraped knees and deep cuts that made him want to cry in pain, Thor with tears in his eyes, but never did a single drop trail down his cheek.

Now, the tears roll down Thor's face, dirtied from battle and wounds not yet healed, and his head hangs low, as if ashamed, and Loki wants to speak, to say _'I'm here'_ , but his mouth won't move, his tongue lying dormant, and Loki closes his eyes.

_I'm here, brother. I was always here._

...

The pain subsides, an instant relief he feels in his bones, and a soft sigh escapes his lips as he finds the strength to roll over. A hand freezes on his chest, cold and hard against his skin, and in the darkness he could think Sigyn's hand was on his chest, her graceful face smiling down at him, but the nails scrape at his skin, long nails that could do significant damage, and he struggles to open his eyes, fights himself in the darkness, but to no avail.

Laughter floats through the air and his heart leaps with unrest. "Looks like little Sigyn fixed you right up."

The voice is close, puffs of air against the shell of his ear, and the hair on the back of his neck stands up as he recognizes it, knows it from long nights spent studying together, even longer days spent practicing magic over and over and over, poison lying deadly behind a soft laugh.

"We'll see how good of a chance you stand against Thanos, pet," Amora whispers, that same laughter evident in her voice, and her hand falls from his chest, the click of heels following him into the darkness.

...

Sigyn picks at her dress, a loose thread dangling in the air, and frowns, lost in her thoughts, as Thor looks to her expectantly. At everyone's silence, she looks up, eyes as wide as a deer's in the headlights, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Sigyn asks, glancing at Thor. "Lady Natasha asked you a question, Lady Sigyn," he says, a concerned frown falling across his face, an expression that seems to be more permanent these days. Sigyn turns to the Black Widow, her ebony cat suit spotted with dried mud, her hair tangled and caked with blood, and shakes her head. "I said, how much longer until Loki's back on his feet?" Natasha asks, annoyance clear in her voice.

Sigyn looks to the hall, the one that holds Loki's current room, and sighs, tapping her nails against the table in the middle of the room, shaking her head, and she clasps the emerald jewel resting in the hollow of her collarbone, a comforting reminder of her past. "It should be a day or so. Gods tend to heal much faster than mortals, anyway, and Loki seems to be exceptional at his healing process."

Amora snorts, cutting Sigyn off, and smiles, the smirk of a predator that reminds everyone so much of Loki. "He's exceptional at getting in trouble, that's what he is. If I didn't owe him a debt, I would have turned Loki away the moment I laid eyes on him," she murmurs, more to herself than anyone else, and Sigyn looks away hastily, crystal eyes shimmering. Thor looks to Amora quizzically, blue eye questioning.

"What debt do you owe Loki, Enchantress?" Amora turns her icy gaze on Thor, her golden hair shining in the candlelight, and laughs. "If it wasn't for Loki, I would never have learned to harness my powers. I would never have become the Enchantress, and for that, a great debt is in order."

Tony seems to tune in, turning from his conversation with Bruce, and looks at Amora, eyebrows furrowed. "What powers?" She glances at him and her eyes light up, like this is all she's ever wanted, and they all watch, captivated, as purple tendrils envelope her irises, turning her eyes a sparkling violet, swirling colors mixing into her pupils, and Tony stares, captured by her magic. Sigyn watches with reluctant amusement, knowing well the ability of Amora, and she thinks for a moment to snap Tony out of the trance he's quickly falling into. All the men in the room-Thor, Bruce, Clint, and Tony- simultaneously stand and she wonders what Amora will make them do.

Natasha looks around her with the most priceless expression on her face as they all march forward, booming steps perfectly in unison, her eyes following their every move. Amora gives a wicked smile and tilts her head, but a voice makes her jump in surprise , the purple in her eyes vanishing in a blink, and everyone looks around them, dazed and fuming with rage.

"If you're going to make them dance, at least let me watch," Loki mumbles, his words a bit slurred, and he limps into the small area they've claimed for the moment, a tiny section of the great expanse of the hollowed out mountain, and walks up behind Amora with an amused smile plastered on his pallid face.

Thor's confused eyes quickly light up with clarity and a relieved smile crosses his features, a hearty laugh escaping him as he stares at his brother. Loki nods in his direction, a genuine smile gracing his face, and Thor laughs even louder, tears of joy coming to his eyes. Amora shrugs off Thor's outburst and turns to Loki, her hand crawling up his bare chest as Sigyn stares, as silent as the grave, her glassy eyes lit with rage.

Loki can feel the heat of fury coming from Sigyn, his own emotions in tune with hers, and he stares into Amora's eyes, daring her to try to annoy him. He doesn't know what he'll do if she calls his bluff; he's just not that into backhanding women into concrete floors today. Amora's eyes flash violet as she stares up at Loki, but he smirks down at her, both of them knowing that it never works, and he walks past her to Thor's side, renewed fury in her gaze as she watches him go, the question of why Loki is immune haunting her thoughts. Thor claps a gentle hand on his shoulder and Loki suppresses his wince of pain, meeting Sigyn's concerned gaze from across the room and quickly ducking his head.

"Are you well now, Loki?" Thor asks, looking over to him with explicit worry shining like a diamond in his ocean colored eyes. Loki nods silently, too tongue tied by his suddenly fast pounding heart to reply, his eyelids burning with the intensity of Sigyn's stare. Thor turns to the team and smiles, his booming voice shaking the floor. "Then we shall leave within the hour," Thor announces, and Loki furrows his eyebrows, shaking his head, and he grabs Thor's arm, a viper catching a mouse, and the affection within his eyes has faded, leaving the ghost of bitter resentment in his emerald stare.

Thor turns to him with surprise and frowns. "I intended to come here, Thor, injured or not. The fact that there was a healer living here was just a lucky coincidence", Sigyn feels tears prick her eyes at the statement and she blinks rapidly to usher them away, but not before Amora sees them, smiling darkly, "and I am not leaving until I get what I came here for," he mutters, his mouth a thin, frustrated line.

Thor's eyes scan his surroundings, eyeing Amora and her smile with wariness etched in his gaze, and he nods reluctantly. "Alright, what did you come here for?" Sigyn feels her necklace heat up with a strange fire, warming the skin beneath her dress, and as Loki turns to her, she knows what he'll say.

He points to her chest, to the jewel with a fire the color of the darkest envy resting there, and his face gives nothing away. "That."

...

_She's restless, a bundle of buzzing energy as she bounces on the balls of her feet, her cotton nightdress floating in the midnight breeze._

_The rails of the balcony are cool beneath her palms and she gazes up at Loki with familiarity, shy beams of moonlight illuminating her pale features as she smiles at him. He laughs, pulling from his pocket a golden necklace, wrapping his fingers around the delicate amulet hanging from its middle. Sigyn gasps, surprised, and quickly takes his hands into hers, the emerald gem reflecting in her mirrored eyes._

_"A gift," Loki whispers, ducking his head so that his lips brush against the shell of her pointed ear, "for the keeper of my heart."_

_Sigyn offers a small smile, feeling the strange heat emanating from the necklace, and shrugs off all thoughts of magic as she cranes her neck, his lips crushing against hers as they cling to each other, murmurs of endearment lost to the rush of the ocean tides below._

...

"This is no time for games, Loki," Sigyn mutters angrily, half whispers thrown at him as they quietly argue in the corner, where she'd quite aggressively tugged him over, eyes fuming. "You can't just give a gift and take it away."

Loki finds the nerve to smirk and chuckles darkly, eyes searching her face for traces of annoyance, her necklace glowing beneath her dress.

"You mean, like a heart?" She stares at him, completely unfazed, and rolls her eyes, speaking in slow tones, as if he's a child that needs to be talked down from his temper tantrum. "Don't even go there, Loki," she admonishes harshly, frowning.

Loki spares a glance behind him, frustrated, and catches Amora's violet tinted stare, her nostrils flaring in anger and she crosses her arms, idly listening to Tony and Bruce's conversation, filled with such scientific jargon that she turns from it, uninterested. Loki gives his attention back to the slender woman before him, staring up at him incredulously as she realizes he wasn't listening to a single word she just said, and her pale hands curl into fists at her side, her eyes shining dangerously, the fresh scent of rage-filled magic wafting in the air.

Loki puts his hands out in front of him, as if to calm a wild animal, and Sigyn's anger subsides, replaced by immense exhaustion, her mind weary from the stress of the past few days. He finds himself starting to frown, a sure sign of weakness, and forces his face into a mask of impassivity. Sigyn shakes her head at him, her eyes glinting.

"I don't care what you say; it's mine."

And with that, she stalks off, brushing past his shoulder with all the grace of an elephant, and rushes down the corridor, slamming her bedroom door with great force, leaving a thundering boom in her wake.

...

Loki paces outside Sigyn's door, muddied boots scuffing against the stone floor, and the noise irritates Sigyn more than anything at that moment.

She leans against the door, blessedly alone on her side, and listens to Loki as he mutters angrily to himself, a habit she remembers well, memories of late nights spent kissing his shoulder as he read some ancient text or another, lips mumbling in low tones, eyes locked on the parchment before him, coming to the front of her mind like an old friend. A very unwelcome friend, she reminds herself, and stubbornly denies the moments any entrance into her already scrambled thoughts.

Loki stops amid his own scrambled thoughts long enough to gently tap on her door, knuckles hesitantly knocking against the ancient wood, and she rolls her eyes, a smile, despite her efforts, making its way onto her pale face.

"Sig-Lady Sigyn?" His voice is shaken, as if from some trauma, and she chastises herself on how quickly her heart flutters behind her rib cage.

She can just imagine his face, all sharp angles and dark shadows, and the thought of his emerald eyes sends her into a state of maddening dizziness. He clears his throat and she snaps out of whatever reverie she was quickly falling into, brief images of lips clashing and trusting arms wrapped around broad shoulders, and blinks rapidly, her silvery eyes wide and startled.

Sigyn sighs as he continues, something about being sorry for his impoliteness-like manners was ever a matter of importance to him, anyway-and she can almost feel the smile in his voice as he once again asks for the jewel resting on the hollow of her collarbone.

A refusal crawls to the tip of Sigyn's tongue for the thousandth time, along with a few long simmering insults, and, with a crooked grin spread across her face, she swings the door open as fast as she possibly can.

And comes face to face with a smoldering gaze, so intense it would scare even the darkest demons in the depths of hell itself.

She stops cold, her pale lips parted, and blinks- once, twice, three times. Her pupils, reflected in Loki's unwavering stare, dilate more than she'd like, her heart hammering against her rib cage, so loud even he should be able to hear its erratic beats echoing in the small space between them. His lips twist up in a taunting smirk at her reaction, his eyebrows high upon his forehead, and she shakes her head with a frown.

"Why do you need it, again?" He shifts to favor his right foot, no doubt still sore from the days-old wounds, and his confidence nearly slips away, dissipating into the shadows lingering in the corridor, but the man before her is the same man she once knew, somewhere deep inside, and that man was never one to lose his composure, much less his horribly cherished confidence. "Let's just say-" She holds up a hand in front of him, startling Loki, and he blinks at her.

"Stop right there. I don't want you to dumb it down, and I don't want any secrets," she says, irritation flaring in her moonlit gaze. She folds her hands together in front of her, tightly clasping her fingers to one another so Loki doesn't notice the slight tremble within them, and plasters a polite smile onto her face.

"Continue." He gives her a withering look before sighing.

"There is a very powerful being-" "Thanos", she interrupts for a second time, twisting her mouth to stop from smiling, "He frequents this realm quite often, you know." Loki's shoulders slump and he grinds his teeth, jaw muscles tensing beneath the taut skin there, and her pulse quickens. "Are you going to let me tell you or do you want to try to put it together like a puzzle?" She pretends to think for a moment, face tilted upward, and nods. "Tell me." Loki rolls his eyes with anger and clenches his fists. "As I was saying, there is a very powerful being, one who plans to destroy this realm and all others. His only goal is destruction, Sigyn, and, for a time, that was my only goal. I allied myself with him, and now that I've broken our deal, he's been trying to find me. His men stormed Asgard and…killed Frigga."

Sigyn's eyes widen, shock crossing her delicate features as she remembers the woman clad in gold, blond tresses wrapped up in fanciful buns, tendrils falling across her strong shoulders and framing a warm face, twinkling eyes with a caring smile, honey sweet voice laced with iron. Loki's eyes sparkle with unshed tears and Sigyn stops herself from reaching out and wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. He shakes his head and swallows thickly. "I decided to help Thor and his teammates, and now I'll surely pay for my betrayal. The jewel attached to your necklace…it's special, Sigyn. When we were young, I snuck into the weapons vault and came upon the Infinity Gauntlet, a weapon far more powerful than even I could fathom, and I stole a jewel from its place on the Gauntlet."

His eyes fall to the necklace across her collarbone and he smiles.

"I thought it was beautiful, you know. It had this incredible allure, the perfect gift for my-you. I knew you would wear it for as long as you had it, seeing as how devoted you've always been, and I'm glad that I gave it to you, glad that I stole it. Thanos has the Gauntlet, and he only needs that jewel to activate it. If he gets this,", and he reaches up to clasp the emerald gem between his fingers, gently running his finger down its smooth surface, "if the Infinity Gauntlet is activated, this world, this life you cherish so much, will be gone. Nothing, and no one, will be spared." Loki lets his hand fall and frowns, meeting Sigyn's stilling gaze with a tragic glint in his own.

"That's why I need this, to prevent anything from happening, to stop it. And once I get the gem, I can leave this place and destroy it." He glances behind her, looking into nothing, and his brow furrows. "I'm sure it will be a long journey to find the right spot."

Sigyn wraps her hand around the jewel and tilts her head, the spark of thought across her face, and smiles a smile that sends a flare of warning through Loki's brain, memories of the same smile across her face just before she pushed him into the freezing waters of Johtunheim when they were teenagers, or when she shoved his face into his coming-of-age cake when they were children, or even when she pulled him into her doorway after he came back from a hazardous hunting trip with Thor, pressing a lingering kiss to his mouth. Now, she leans against the doorframe, fingers idly toying with the golden chain of her necklace.

"A journey?"

Loki knows in that instant that he's made a very big, very idiotic mistake. His face freezes and he rushes to refuse her, but years of beating him to the punch have made the Lady Sigyn faster than him, and she laughs with mirth.

"Why not take me along, then? You'll have your gem, and when you find the right place to destroy it, I'll be there to assist you with my magic."

She nods curtly and turns on her heel, opening the door in once second, and vanishing through it, and closing the door in the next, all before Loki can get even one word out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)


	5. Chapter 5

"An adventure. How romantic," Amora drawls, eyeing Loki teasingly as she leans against the cave entrance, azure eyes shining like a star in the darkness as shadows cast by the candles dance across her face.

Thor, polished armor shining like new, smiles in excitement, just as ready for action as he was as a boy, and the rest of the team, all clean and ready for battle, look longingly out at the night sky, all too eager to leave and never come back. Loki shifts from foot to foot, wincing slightly at the movements, his wounds not quite entirely healed, and Sigyn sidles over to him, the silver silk of her dress wrapped delicately around her slender frame, an armored corset covering her waist and steel cuffs secured about her wrists, gazing up at him with worry as she toys with the jewel at her throat, a bag of supplies slung over her shoulder.

Amora saunters up to the trickster god with a deep-set pout, cupping a hand over his face with near affection as she pulls him in for a hug.

"Try not to die, pet. There will be nothing left for Thanos to play with if you do."

Loki's jaw muscles tense and he pulls away, nodding to the Enchantress before walking briskly past her, careful not to brush her shoulder on the way out, and the team quickly follows suit. He leads them down the winding path around the mountain with Thor at his right and Sigyn at his left, eyes darting back and forth warily, always on the lookout for more monstrous creatures, and as they reach the bottom, Loki turns, head tilted upward as he catches sight of Amora, standing within the gaping cave entrance, her golden hair flowing in the wind as she looks down on them, rose stained lips curled up in a secretive smile, and a memory comes to Loki, an image long buried within his mind.

_She is a thing of beauty, standing among the library shelves as she leafs through a book of sorcery, glancing up at him with cerulean irises that leave him feeling empty inside, like something has died within him, and her smile is almost innocent, a glowing blush creeping into her vibrant cheeks._

Amora is not innocent, not anymore, but Loki can allow his eyes to trick him for just a moment as he stares up at her, her billowing dress of greens and purples whipping around her long legs, ivy hued heels glinting in the shadows.

_"Why do you stare so, Prince Loki?"_

_"I do not stare, Lady Amora."_

He finds it in himself to feel just a bit heartbroken, that empty feeling inside of him flaring with anger, at the realization that the shine of her eyes, always like a soft burning fire-

_She giggles girlishly and goes back to her studying, dark eyelashes resting atop her crimson cheeks._

-has dimmed to that of quickly dying embers, as if there was never any life written there at all.

_Her laughter sends his heart pounding._

He clenches his fist and turns from her, the imprint of her long lost smile burning beneath his eyelids.

...

Hawkeye rubs his hands together, bringing them to his lips to blow warm air on them, shivering in the cold wind, and Loki rolls his eyes at the lack of climate tolerance they all seem to have.

All except Sigyn, of course.

She walks just behind Loki, hovering close to watch how he's dealing with his healing wounds, and her cheeks are perfectly warm, not at all affected by the biting chill in the air, and the shadows seem to play with her silvery eyes, dancing within the reflective irises when Loki looks behind him, making him swear that her eyes were bleeding, irises a deep crimson red that makes his stomach flip, fear coursing through his veins, hatred simmering in his blood as he turns back around, shoulders tense.

He doesn't see Sigyn's gaze as it flickers to the side, a sparkle of guilt in her mirrored eyes.

Bruce, with his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, chews on his lower lip, nose red from the wind.

"Maybe this would go faster if we split up," he mutters lowly, walking beside Tony and Natasha as they quicken their paces to keep their blood circulating.

Clint snorts."You just want to get away from the cold, Banner," he says, shrugging as he looks around him, warily eyeballing the towering mountains and precarious cliffs, the lingering shadows that may or may not be bodies of water, the whispers hidden within the wind as it drifts around them.

"And besides, splitting up would hardly be advantageous to any of us." Loki looks up from his sulking, then, and a devilish grin splits his face in two. He looks past his shoulder to smirk at them.

"Actually, that's exactly what we need to do."

...

"Black Widow and Hawkeye will go west, searching those mountains over there", and Loki points a thin finger at a group of rocks that reaches past the sky of shadows, "and Banner and Stark will go east, toward the Serpent Sea." At his words, the two look at each other from the corners of their eyes, eyebrows raised.

"Serpent Sea?" Tony asks, brown eyes concerned, before Loki turns to Thor and Steve.

"You two can go south." He looks to Sigyn, eyebrows furrowed.

"I suppose that leaves us, then."

Thor bounces on his feet, beaming at Loki from a few feet away, and looks to his comrades. "If you think you've found a place to destroy the gem, or if you find yourselves in peril, just signal the team", and he points to the communicator on his belt, "and we'll come as soon as we can," he explains enthusiastically, already turning from them to begin his exploration, and Loki shakes his head at his brother's retreating form.

He glances at Sigyn before heading north, and the team disperses into their assigned groups, listening to Sigyn's murmurs as she tags along behind Loki, fidgeting with her own communicator.

"How does this work? Is it magic?"

...

"I'm starting to regret my suggestion," Bruce mutters, pushing up his glasses from where they've been slipping for the past five minutes. Tony nods absentmindedly, arms constantly outstretched, lasers glowing blue on his palms, and his suit clanks when he walks.

"I don't even know where we are. You'd think Loki could have given us a map or a tour or something," he replies, agitated.

Bruce smiles half-heartedly. "A tour, yeah, that would have been all kinds of fun."

They keep walking, occasionally tripping on rocks and falling flat on their faces, to which the one that's still standing up laughs at, and Tony releases a breath he didn't know he was holding when they finally make it to a sizable rock, or maybe a miniature mountain, and leans against it, closing his eyes to relax. Bruce is about to do the same, all too ready to take a breather from the harsh trek, but he catches the shine of something in the darkness and his eyes widen.

"Uh, Tony…" Tony frowns, annoyed. "What, Bruce?"

Bruce backs away quickly, the noise of scuffing shoes making Tony open his eyes. "Remember that Serpent Sea Loki talked about?" Bruce asks, earning a look of irritation from Tony as he nods in remembrance. Bruce reaches for the gun at his side, resting within the holster at his belt, and swallows. "I think we're there." His companion frowns.

"Now, why would you think tha-"

And then the rock Tony is leaning on shifts, moving away from him so that he stumbles, and Tony watches, half fear stricken and half in awe, as it rears up to stare down at them, revealing a large body of water behind it, opening its giant mouth to display its jagged teeth, large eyes glittering in the night. Tony's shoulders drop.

"What is with this place and mutant snakes?"

...

"Didn't Loki say that he wanted to find the gem so that it could track the Gauntlet?" Steve asks, his shield pulled out in front of him, and Thor frowns , stopping in the middle of their fast paced walking.

"He did, didn't he?" Thor asks, but it's not really a question so much as a statement of disbelief, and Steve's blue eyes radiate compassion, trying his best to relate to the thunder god, feeling sorry for his friend.

Thor swallows, pushing back tears as his face reddens.

"So, my brother has lied to me yet again." Steve starts to walk again and lets out a relieved sigh when Thor follows, staring into space, his eyes shadowed from the world.

"You don't know for sure. Maybe he just changed his plans, maybe he-"

"No. Loki lies. That is the lesson you learn first, the only one that matters." And Steve is left, his mouth open but the words gone from him, while Thor walks on, shoulders tense, posture rigid, his blood-red cape billowing in the wind.

...

"I haven't seen a single spot yet," Natasha exclaims, her gun held out in front of her, eyes darting from one place to the next as she tightens her grip on the trigger. Clint walks, shoulders relaxed, beside her, smiling over at his partner with a smug look across his face.

"You're awful jumpy, you know," he says, his bow hanging loosely at his side. "Yeah, well, I need to be," Natasha shoots back, a smile coming to her lips.

"This is almost like Budapest," Clint observes, barely avoiding a large rock in his path, and sidesteps to miss it. Natasha turns at a sudden sound and tenses, ready to shoot, and sighs when nothing happens. She lowers her gun. "I guess the real danger is at Serpent Sea."

They laugh at their friends' misfortune, smiling at each other, and Natasha is reminded of days long past, when she would look at him and a wave of understanding would pass, just like that, from her to him. He's her one constant in a world of change. Clint takes an arrow from its pouch on his back and rubs a piece of mud off of the tip, frowning.

"Maybe we should just call it a night and find somewhere to rest," he suggests quietly, absentmindedly getting another arrow to clean, and Natasha shakes her head. "I doubt we'll be able to get any rest here, Clint."

Clint shrugs and puts his arrows back in their spot just before something reaches out of the darkness, wrapping around Natasha's ankle and jerking her to the ground, dragging her into the shadows as she screams, her gun falling to the ground. Clint dives to the ground after her, wrapping his fingers around her wrist with a steel grip, and they're pulled along by some invisible creature, Clint desperately twisting to reach his arrows as Natasha tries to search for her second gun, securely nestled by her waist.

He keeps a steady hold on both Natasha and his bow, trying the best he can to grab an arrow with the few fingers he has at his disposal, and she manages to take her gun and twist, rocks tearing through their skin as they slide along the dirt, dust spewing into their eyes. Natasha shoots blindly, hoping to hit something vital, and an ear piercing shriek cuts through the darkness as the tendrils holding her ankle suddenly let go, releasing her as she skids to a stop.

They both leap into action, bow and gun poised at the ready, but the creature is hidden away in the darkness, disappeared to let its wounds heal. Natasha lowers her gun slowly, wary and shaking with adrenaline, before glancing at Clint, who's just as beaten and bloody as she is, a deep gash down his arm from where he'd twisted to grab her, and he lets out a breath.

"Let's keep moving," he mutters, and Natasha nods, hastily limping back to where they came from.

...

"I don't think this is very safe, Loki," Sigyn warns, making her way up a steep rock as they climb together, Loki taking the front as they ascend.

"Nothing is very safe anymore, Sigyn, and if you intend to get mauled in your sleep tonight, then by all means, stay down on the ground," he replies, turning to give her a withering look as she smiles up at him, taking his outstretched hand as he pulls her up past a formidable rock. She tightens her grip.

"Just like old times."

Loki almost smiles at that, but as she releases him, he remembers himself, putting on his trademark frown as he follows her, dodging the precariously placed boulders at his feet. Sigyn's silver hair reflects the dim moonlight cast upon the mountain they're climbing, shining brightly against Loki's vision, and he squints at her, tilting his head.

"Why did you," He steps over a log, "come here? Did you want to live with Amora?"

Sigyn scoffs and turns to look at him, rolling her eyes, and he is reminded of a time when she did that, as they ran beneath the trees of her favorite garden, falling behind her in their races just to let her win. Loki blinks and he's back in the present as she shakes her head.

"No one would actually want to live with Amora."

_Her eyes are like water, pulling him in with gentle tugs until he's lost, drowning in it as it invades his senses, washing over him like a cleansing rain. She reaches out to twirl a finger around a lock of his ebony hair, smiling fondly._

Sigyn stops at a small hole in the side of the mountain, peeking inside to get a good view, and a spark of magic appears at her fingertips, lighting the inside of the cave. She smiles triumphantly as he follows her in. "She was my only option. After I left Asgard, I didn't want to go back home, so I decided to explore." She leans against the wall of the cave, sliding down to the ground with an exhausted sigh. He quickly follows suit, just as tired as she is.

_"Why are you immune to me, Loki?" Loki smiles down at her._

"She took me in, taught me how to survive in this realm." Sigyn looks to her hands, where she's nervously fidgeting, and smiles. "I suppose that I should be grateful, but Amora is a difficult person to be around," she explains, looking up at him with that fathomless gaze. "You used to know her, Loki. You know what I'm talking about."

_"Maybe I'll tell you someday." Amora laughs, letting her hand fall, and sits at his desk, taking a book and flipping it open with earnest, pausing to look over at him, her face illuminated by the candlelight of his chambers . "I'm ready to begin our lessons, Master," she murmurs, smiling like she knows the greatest secret in the world._


	6. Chapter 6

The fire dances on the cave walls, sultry flames licking their way through the eerie shadows, and Sigyn places her hands over its warmth. Loki puts a finger in the fire and watches, bored, as it crawls along his hand, the green sparks of magic coming to his fingertips as he makes the flame grow.

"I hope this doesn't attract too much attention," he says quietly, watching as the flame dies, smoke curling from his pale hand as Sigyn nods in agreement, leaning away from the fire to rest.

"You don't seem to be affected by the cold as much as the others. Why is that?" Sigyn asks curiously, gazing at the trickster from across their small space, and the question makes him jump, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. He looks away a moment later, as if ashamed, and she studies him, the tensing of his shoulders and the frown upon his face.

"I've never been like my peers, you know that," he explains softly.

The secret written across his face makes Sigyn close her mouth, afraid to ask any more questions, and she desperately wishes that they were teens again, two people who only needed one another, a boy who held a girl's heart in the palm of his hand.

Sigyn recalls Amora, then, with her lilting voice and tinkling laughter, flipping her blonde tresses behind her shoulder whenever Loki entered a room, a book in her hands as she constantly studied, always the obedient pupil. She remembers Loki, gazing down at his student with blind eyes, oblivious to the way Amora gazed up at him, her blue eyes wide with adoration. Sigyn was never the jealous type, and she found it in herself to let Amora have her fantasies, all the while claiming Loki as her own.

That was just the way it was. Loki was Sigyn's, and Sigyn was Loki's. The man with the dark hair, with the kind smile that appeared only in dreams; that man was Amora's.

Sigyn sighs at the memories coming to her mind.

_Amora beams at Loki after mastering the lesson and Sigyn claps for them both as she sits upon his bed, watching with excitement as flames dance between Amora's fingers. The future Enchantress laughs with glee and Loki looks down at her with something akin to pride flickering within his emerald eyes. Sigyn tucks the lesson away in her mind for safe keeping, promising herself that she'll practice the magic when she retires to her own chambers._

_But Sigyn doesn't miss the glint of affection written in Amora's azure gaze._

Sigyn grinds her teeth together at the image and sighs. "Why doesn't Amora's power work on you?" Loki looks up from his thoughts and his mouth twists up. "That is a secret even Amora isn't privy to. Why should I tell you?"

Sigyn scoots closer to where he sits, smiling shyly. "Perhaps because you once promised me that you would tell me all of your secrets…and I have a feeling that you still have a few up your sleeves," she whispers, her heart picking up speed at the mention of their past. Loki swallows thickly and looks up at the cave ceiling, unblinking. "And you never break your promises."

Loki laughs suddenly, a short, brief exhalation of air, and Sigyn blinks at him. "Alright, Lady Sigyn," he starts quietly, "I'll tell you a story."

She wraps her arms around her silver clad knees and pulls them to her chest, resting her chin on her legs.

"Long ago, sorcerers and sorceresses, or _enchantresses_ , were perfect for one another, perhaps even soul mates. What one lacked in magic the other made up for, and that's how it was for a long time. There were arranged marriages of all sorts, pairings that were made based solely upon power. In that time, an enchantress could only put a man under her spell if he was not gifted with magic. The future generations, however, became greedy for power, for wealth and influence, and in their greed decided that arranged marriages across clans and tribes were too time consuming."

Loki glances at Sigyn with a crooked grin. "They decided to give incest a try." Sigyn's face twists into a mask of disgust and Loki nods sadly.

"In doing so, the children to come were weaker, and their genes were altered so that the magic within them wasn't as strong as that of their parents. Over time, the gene pool was nearly obliterated entirely, save for a few exceptionally strong sorcerers. In the time between then and now, an enchantress has taken on the power to alter any man's will, even a sorcerer's."

Sigyn holds up a hand to stop him. "But the strong sorcerers are immune," she guesses with a smile, and Loki returns the gesture.

"Natural born sorcerers, the exceptionally strong ones, can withstand the lure of a natural born sorceress. I'm one of those sorcerers, and Amora, although she has always carried those powers, only learned to harness them because I taught her how, and she will never be able to put her powers against me."

Sigyn nods in understanding and gazes down at her hand as the flames lick over them, mimicking Loki's previous trick.

"Am I a sorceress, then, Loki?" He stares at her hand and shrugs, a slight lift of his thin shoulders. "Not entirely. You weren't born with your magic; you learned it," he explains, his eyes wandering toward the night sky, the shadows darting in and out of their little alcove.

Sigyn watches the light play tricks upon his face, making his gaunt cheekbones seem even more hollow, his shoulders even more thin, and her heart pounds beneath her rib cage.

"I don't know what they did to you, but it must have been truly awful to affect your body like this. When I last saw you, you were lean, but you weren't emaciated." Loki's head snaps to her direction, but he doesn't meet her eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing within his throat.

"You need to eat," she states, reaching into her supply pack and pulling out a carefully wrapped apple. She takes it from its package and examines it, smirking as she holds it out for him.

"I'm sure being in a bag all day isn't very good for it, but it'll have to do." Loki turns away, ignoring her. Sigyn huffs in protest and furrows her brow.

"Loki Odinson, you'll eat this apple right now if you know what's good for you. We wouldn't want you to take an unfortunate and unexplained tumble off of this mountain ledge, now would we?" Sigyn asks sternly, one hand planted firmly on her hip, and Loki stifles a laugh, reminded of that same threat so many years ago, and turns in her direction, eyeing the apple hungrily. She puts it further in his reach, one brow arched in expectance, and Loki takes it from her, a grin shining in his eyes.

...

Loki, now completely consumed by hunger thanks to Sigyn's single apple, sits idly against the wall of the cave, arms crossed at his stomach as he tries to stop it from growling. A slight breeze invades their small space, sending the lasting embers from the fire into the air, and he cringes as one touches his hand. Sigyn notices his scowling and reaches over to brush the ember from his skin, wincing in pain as she does, and Loki glances at her, his eyes softening.

Her hair whips about her face, her gentle eyes straying up to his, and he can imagine that everything is just like it used to be, when they were young and free and he was oblivious to the creature hidden beneath his skin. Her necklace glows in the dim light and a blush creeps into her pale cheeks as she pulls away, crossing her arms over her armored chest. Loki shifts uncomfortably as he shakes away the memories, looking anywhere but at her.

He does a fine job with ignoring her, of course, until a looming shadow creeps up near the cave entrance just behind Sigyn, all sharp claws and clicking hisses as Loki watches, eyes wide. His hand automatically finds the communicator at his belt, but he hesitates. To call in the team would be to further delay their plans. Sigyn, staring at him curiously, follows his gaze, turning around to see a spindly creature behind her, and she sucks in her breath.

She reaches blindly into her pack, moving slowly, but can't find her knife in its dark hiding place. The creature rears back at her movements and lets out a growl that vibrates the entire cave, lunging for Sigyn just as Loki dives in to shove her out of the way. The action, though noble for someone like Loki, earns him a shallow cut across his lower back as he hits the floor of the cave, spinning around, a staff materializing in the air, to shove the weapon into its gaping maw, effectively stopping the creature from closing its teeth around him.

He slides out from under its great mass as it snaps the staff in half, splintering metal flying in different directions, and Loki looks around wildly for his companion, eyes frantically searching for any sign that she's alright. He almost changes, panic flooding his blood as a claw catches his middle and rips his ivy-hued armor, almost morphs into that monster hiding within him, but the swirling red of his eyes vanishes at the thought of Sigyn, staring at him with a thick mask of horror on her face, unable to speak to him ever again, angry for keeping such an important secret from her.

He hesitates, stands still with reluctance for only a few seconds, but that's all it takes.

The monster lashes out and throws Loki against a wall before he can react, trying to summon enough magic to blast it out of the cave, and it brings its large legs down on the god, an inch away from crushing him beneath its bulky weight, until everything stops, a blast of icy wind surging throughout the cave, curling around the monster in a thick film of ice as it freezes in the air, trapped within its thick casing. Loki, splayed against the wall, breathes heavily, confusion written across his face as he turns, looking in the direction of the frozen mist as he spots Sigyn, standing on the opposite end of the cave.

Her milky skin, always so pale and soft, drowns in ancient runes that snake up her body, flooded with dark blue color as her hair, shining in the shadows, is engulfed in ebony, her mirrored eyes bleeding crimson as the ice flows from her hands.

Loki stares in horror as the rush of cold air ceases, dissipating in the heavy silence. Sigyn lowers her frost covered hands as she looks to him, her ruby gaze laden with guilt, and starts forward, an arm outstretched toward him. Loki scrambles to his feet and backs away, his stomach dropping as a nauseating feeling comes over him.

"You're…you're a frost giant?"

...

Tony yells at J.A.R.V.I.S and the suit takes him into the air, shooting out lasers at the snake as Bruce fires his gun into its eye socket, squinting up at the creature in the darkness. A bullet ricochets off of a hard plate of scales across its throat as it roars, diving its head down to clip Bruce in the shoulder, and he flies backward, landing against a sharp rock with a hiss of pain as he rolls out of the way of the monster's large tail.

A laser knocks the snake off balance and it topples over, a chunk blown out of its side as it screams and thrashes, slithering toward Bruce. Bruce's vision turns green and he closes his eyes, trying to quell his adrenaline. He clenches his fists tightly, chanting to himself, and Tony swoops down and latches onto the snake's head, climbing on top of it to pound its eye with his fist.

He shoves his hand deep into its eye socket and shoots off a missile, leaping off of the snake and scooping Bruce up in one fluid motion to fly to higher ground. The snake rears back, ready to strike, but is blown to bits in the next second, green ooze splashed upon every available surface. The pair goes flying backwards in the air, landing on a piece of flat rock, and Bruce flinches as slime splatters onto his face, frowning in disgust as he wipes at it with his hand.

Tony's face plate lifts and he gives his companion an exhausted smirk, resting his head against the ground as he pants. "Damn mutant snakes."

...

"I'm so sick of aliens, man," Clint mutters angrily, kicking up a small rock as he slides to the ground, hiding within the darkness of a small shelter. Natasha smirks beside him, combing dried mud out of her fiery hair with her slim fingers. "I think they prefer the term 'gods'."

Clint snorts at that and turns to her, watching as her scarlet curls fall back onto her leather clad shoulders. She lets out a loud breath and relaxes, propping her chin in her hands. "I think I may have found a good spot, earlier, but then that thing came at me and I lost my sense of direction." She tilts her head to the side, sending him a withering look.

"Maybe this _is_ like Budapest." He smiles fondly at her, taking her hand to inspect an angry cut across the back, and brushes the pad of his thumb over her knuckles.

"I told you."

...

Steve flinches at the sound of crunching rocks beneath the soles of his boots and braces for an attack, crouching instinctively. Thor walks right past him, oblivious, and raises an eyebrow at the scenery around him. "Is this what you wanted to show me, Captain?" Thor asks, his muddy blonde hair tumbling in the wind.

Steve nods quietly and comes up beside his teammate, sighing. A large mountain rises into the air, soaring a good one hundred feet into the shadowy sky beyond, and the jagged rocks around its sides serves as a good protection mechanism, not to mention adequate footholds. At the very top, the peak morphs into a flat area, perfect for grouping together to destroy a certain gem, and Steve feels his lips pull up.

Beside him, Thor remains melancholy, looking out at the landscape with a forlorn expression. Steve reaches for the communicator at his belt, but Thor reaches out to stop him.

"Not yet," He says, blue eyes darkening, "I need to have words with my brother first."

...

Loki's heart thumps against his ribs, a soft tapping that pulls at his concentration, and he can fool himself into thinking that none of it is real, that Sigyn is still the Sigyn he always thought she was, but her sad gaze tells another story. He collapses back onto the floor, ignoring the frozen creature before him.

"Why?" Loki rasps, incredulous.

Sigyn carefully lowers herself to the floor beside him, her blood red eyes as wide as saucers. "I didn't tell you in the fear that you would look at me as you are looking at me now. You were raised to hate everything about the frost giants; to tell you that I was the thing you despised most would have put you in a complicated position." Loki shakes his head, his vision swimming.

"But you...you seemed so-"

"Normal?" Sigyn interjects, the markings on her face rising as she lifts an eyebrow. She smiles shyly, blue lips upturned in an unfamiliar gesture; he's never seen a frost giant smile, and the image sends his heart pounding like a caged animal.

"My parents were ashamed of me because of my size. They threw me into a snow bank at the edges of Johtunheim, hoping that I'd starve. There were a few passing sorcerers at that time, people who illegally entered Johtunheim to test their magic in the harsh cold, and the snow I was trapped in was infected with dark magic. My adoptive parents were scholars; they explored all they could and wrote down their findings. They just happened to be trespassing near where I was abandoned, hoping to discover some of the giants' secrets, when they heard a baby cry. They picked me up and the rest is history," Sigyn finishes, looking over at Loki with pleading eyes.

He tries to imagine her as she was just moments before; silver wisps of hair flowing past her shoulders, reflective eyes catching the light. He blinks and the blue of her skin has not faded, the sadness in her face still remaining. Loki thinks of his own skin, his _true_ skin, as he saw it that fateful day, icy veins crawling across his arm as he watched, seized by terror, but as he stares at Sigyn, he doesn't feel so sick, so disgusted, and the reason evades him.

"The dark magic. It-It changed you, to look as you did before?" Sigyn nods reluctantly and swallows, shifting closer to him with calculated movements, as if he's a frightened animal ready to run. Loki lets her.

"Loki, you know that I would never mean to hurt you like this. I just…couldn't…I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want to get close to anyone, either, you know that. I tried to push you away. Don't you remember?" Sigyn asks desperately, bringing up the memory of when they first met as Loki looks away, throat tight.

_The party is boring, far too cheery for a feast celebrating bloodshed, and the food makes Loki's stomach turn. The only remotely pleasing thing about the whole night is that he gets to try out his new tricks on the unsuspecting guests. He snickers as he thinks of what he'll do next, leaning against the palace balcony as he stares into the feast hall, nose turned up at the rambunctious chatter. He lifts his finger, a spark of magic igniting somewhere deep within him, but Amora walks right in front of him, leaving the main hall to come outside for fresh air, and she blocks his view of the food._

_He grunts in agitation and lets the magic dissipate, the adrenaline rush from spiking the drinks falling from its high. Loki rolls his head atop his shoulders to look down at his pupil, swathed in golden light as the makeup across her eyelids sparkles violet. Her hair falls down her exposed back and she smiles up at him, seductively grinning as she grasps a glass of wine in her hand, putting it to her cherry painted lips for another drink. Loki grabs her arm to push her out of the way but she leans into his touch, her bubbly laughter echoing deep into his bones, and he can't help but smile down at her._

_"You're absolutely intoxicated, Amora. You should lie down," he murmurs soothingly._

_She shakes her head at him, pouting. "I am not. I'm perfectly sober, Loki. This is just the first time I've had an excuse to loosen up."_

_She smirks wickedly, a habit she no doubt picked up from him, as her fingers climb up past his armored garments, her gold dipped nails splayed over his chest. She presses herself against him and Loki feels a surge of panic swell up inside of him. Amora's eyelids are heavy as her irises swirl with mystical colors and he frowns down at her, his heart hammering. She brings her free hand up to caress his cheek, reaching back to smooth down his unruly mess of black hair, and her thumb brushes over his bottom lip. His eyelids flutter closed and he moans softly, wrapping his hands about her curvy hips._

_He pulls her close, making her hiccup with laughter. "Amora, you must stop this. I won't be able to teach you anymore if you don't."_

_At his words, she reels back, blinking at him like he's just well and truly slapped her across the face, and she sniffles. He stares down, suddenly at a loss for words, and watches, stricken, as a tear rolls down her cheek._

_"I know," she whispers, her voice trembling as she steps back, unsteady on her feet. "If you don't want me here, maybe you'll want_ her _here."_

_She juts her thumb out to point at the next balcony over, hastily turning to walk back into the feast hall, heels clicking against the marble floor. Loki turns and loses his breath in the next instant, captivated as a woman leans against the balcony railing, looking out at the night sky with the saddest look on her pale face._

_Her dress, a green wrap of silken cloth, wraps about her slender body, cinched at the waist and held together by a golden clasp at her collarbone, and her features, bathed in the gentle moonlight, look as if someone took the moon and all of its glory and bundled it into a single person. A curtain of shining hair falls from her shoulder as she turns to look at him. Loki-a trickster, a god, a trouble maker, a sorcerer, a brother, a son, a lie smith-feels his body tremble at the sight. Her eyes are swallowed by the round mirrors in their depths, reflecting against his vision as he strains to see past her shimmering gaze._

_A moon goddess, he thinks with certainty, but then she smiles, a soft, unbidden gesture that makes him nearly lose his balance and topple over the balcony railing. He holds his breath as she laughs, something meant to be cruel sounding like a symphony to his ears._

_"You should keep moving, young prince. I would never be caught dead with the likes of you," she whispers over the space between them._

_But Loki is the master of lies and he can spot one a mile away, catching onto the twinkle in her hardened stare. He feels as if he's falling, lost forever in her endless eyes, and knows with absolute surety that this woman, this beautiful creature with her sharp laughter, is falling with him._

Loki blinks away the sensation of first seeing her and frowns as tears roll down Sigyn's icy cheek.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, hiccupping with gentle sobs, and he feels her grief tugging at something long buried within him. "I just-I didn't want to fall…in love," and her voice breaks, "but when I did, I thought that if I told you my secret, you would hate me."

She looks up to him, her breaths shaking with sorrow. "I couldn't bear the thought of you hating me."

And then Loki just snaps, something inside of him fading into a distant memory, the pain and anger from years of secrets falling away like ashes in the harsh wind, and he reaches out before he can stop himself, wrapping a firm hand around her small wrist. Sigyn starts, about to back away, murmured warnings of how he'll burn himself lost to the silence that follows as the deep blue hue overtakes his skin.

Sigyn watches, wide eyed, as Loki transforms into what he's always hated so strongly, red eyes staring back into her own, ancient markings stretched across his face. She stares, captivated, and her eyes run down his body, watching with awe as the pallid luster of his skin fades into the dark blue of her own.

...

It takes a long time for Loki to tell her his secret, the only one that truly matters, and when he's finally done weaving his tale, she feels like collapsing against him, overcome with radiant happiness, and she stops herself from throwing her arms around his neck.

"You have no reason to be ashamed, Loki," she assures him quietly, his hand still wrapped around her wrist with an iron grip. He swallows down tears and shakes his head in denial. Sigyn can imagine all of the times he's gone to bed at night, thinking that no one could ever love a monster such as he, not even his own father, and yet Sigyn finds herself falling in love all over again, biting her lip against the urge to lean into his touch.

"I've done things, Sigyn. You must know how many people I've killed, how much destruction I've wrought." Sigyn sighs.

"But you can be forgiven, just as Thor has forgiven you. There is a reason we are given second chances, Loki."

He feels her wisdom, as sharp as ever, and stares at her in disbelief. "Do you mean to say that you still believe I'm worthy of a second chance?" Loki asks, his brow furrowed.

"I believe we all are."

His heart brushes against his ribs. "Why?"

She blushes, a purple sheen coming over her darkening cheeks, and swallows. "Maybe you're not the monster you think you are, Loki. Maybe there are people in this world that do, contrary to your belief, still love you."

His chest is like an infernal cage wrapped around his wild heart as it picks up its beating. "Why would you think that?" His chest hurts from the pounding, blood rushing in his ears.

"Because…I still do," Sigyn whispers hoarsely, her dark eyes ghosting over with tears. Loki is reminded, painfully, of the moment he first kissed Sigyn, her eyes swollen from crying, blood trickling down her arm from where she'd fallen out of his window, thinking with all the world that she could practice the magical enhancement of balance.

She had created a sort of tightrope, from his window to another, and was chanting a spell to herself when she took a nasty tumble. Loki had tried to the best of his ability to heal her, but had only managed to lessen the pain; healing was her forte. Her lips had tasted like the darkest sin in all of the realms, soft and warm and all his, and he never forgot the small noise she made in the back of her throat as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek, brushing his thumb over the sharp point of her cheekbone as she leaned into him.

Loki holds his breath at her exclamation and blinks at her, old feelings welling up inside of him until he can barely take it, and his grip on her wrist softens until its nearly nonexistent, his fingertips running up her marked arm. Sigyn's eyes close of their own accord and she sighs, her back arching as Loki leans into her, their chests pressed together in the darkness as she cranes her neck, her breaths coming in short gasps as they fall upon his lips, making him close his eyes as memories flash in his mind.

_Sigyn was utterly gorgeous, standing beneath the candlelight of his chambers as she turned to him, arms outstretched as she climbed into his bed. Her eyes were heavy with sleep as he took her into his arms, her head lolling to rest against his shoulder as he held her, her eyelids fluttering with dreams. Her heavenly scent lingered on his pillows for weeks._

Loki sighs against her, his other hand pressed against her hip, and an unwelcome moment comes to the forefront of his thoughts.

_Amora's hips are sharp against him as she hugs him and Loki winces as he plants his hands on her sides to ease her away. She brushes her luscious hair back to bare her tawny neck and he brings his lips down onto her warm skin, smiling against her as she giggles, the soft silk sheets tangling around their legs. She kisses his cheek and nestles against his chest, closing her eyes as the smell of magic wafts through the air._

Sigyn is so close, too close, and his heart breaks out of its cage, pounding in tandem with the heated rush of his blood.

_"Do you love her yet?"_

_"We've only just met, Amora. Give it time."_

_Amora twists in his arms to bring her lips to his cold skin, kissing his jaw. "Liar."_

Sigyn can almost feel his lips upon hers, a smile pulling on her face, until a loud beeping sound breaks through the silence, startling Sigyn so much that she jumps out of Loki's arms. He mutters a curse before clicking on his communicator, his crimson eyes swirling with annoyance.

"What?" Loki growls.

"We need to talk," Thor says on the other end, his voice fuzzy and filled with static, and Loki's skin morphs back into its pale color in an instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please R&R! ;)


	7. Chapter 7

"What is it this time, Thor?" Loki asks venomously, squinting down at his communicator with irritation. Thor's voice, crackly and horrid with breaks, sounds nearly angrier than Loki can remember ever hearing it, and the trickster feels his stomach drop with unease.

"How many times will I have faith in you, Loki, only to be disappointed time and time again?" The question makes Loki blink and he shakes his head, even though his brother can't see the gesture.

"Why do you say that?"

There's a pause, dead and heavy with tension, that makes Loki's skin crawl, as if he's about to fall from a great height and knows he'll perish at the end of it, dreading the moment he plummets to the ground.

"Because you lied to me," Thor mutters angrily, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice, as Loki lets out a loud breath, stunned.

" _What?_ What _possible_ reason could I have to lie to you, now of all times?"

He can hear Thor's labored breathing on the other end, shaky with adrenaline and rage, and the sound reminds him of all the times he would prank his brother, a young boy running after him with a renewed vengeance for tricking him yet again, the memory tugging at his heart until he's frowning deeply, so lost in the image that he nearly misses Thor's response.

"Because you _always_ lie, Loki. I don't have time for your tricks, and I don't want to play any of your games. I had had so much hope that you'd changed, but you go and do a thing like this…you completely _betray_ all that anyone has ever done to try to forgive you for your misdeeds. You-"

Loki's voice, more like poison rushing through the veins, slices through Thor's next words with the sharpness of any blade, and he clutches his communicator with malice.

" _What_ are you _talking_ about, Thor? I haven't lied to you, not at all. To think such a thing is awful. Do you _really_ presume that I would destroy all that Frigga worked for, all of the things she tried to get me to see, before she was killed?"

Thor hesitates and he takes a breath, closing his eyes against Loki's words. He wants so badly to believe his brother, to believe that Loki has changed, but his mind won't let it rest, and he sighs.

"You said that we would get the gem in order to track the Infinity Gauntlet, and that we would go to Asgard to retrieve it." Loki's eyes widen with anxiety. "But now, you want to destroy the gem. Why would you lie about your plans, Loki, unless you were intending for some kind of betrayal?" Thor murmurs softly, his tone becoming less certain by the second, and Loki grinds his teeth together, distressed as he glances over at Sigyn, the corners of his mouth turned down so that the faint scars still healing across his lips seem more prominent than before. She tilts her head at him in confusion, and he closes his eyes with a heavy sigh.

"I had fully intended to go to Asgard, Thor, but after I'd been bedridden for those few days, Amora came to me. You know how underhanded she is, so I didn't believe her words at first. But she _does_ have the tendency to know certain things, to do someone else's bidding, and I finally found it in myself to have faith in her." Thor waits, just as reluctant to believe and confused as Sigyn, as he continues.

"She told me that Thanos had already stolen the Gauntlet from the weapon's vault, and that he only needed the gem. She is shady, I know, but you _have_ to believe me. I didn't want to put the entire team in way of Thanos unless I absolutely had to, and if the gem is destroyed, Thanos will never again have the chance of activating it. This seemed like the best course of action, at the time." Loki looks over to Sigyn, shaking his head.

"Thanos is probably on our trail as we speak, tracking the gem. Just as the gem tracks the Gauntlet, the Gauntlet tracks the gem, which is why I was in such a hurry to get to Sigyn. I was surprised he hadn't hunted it down already, but I suppose the hunt for the other gems had him occupied for a time." Thor swallows and looks down at his blinking communicator, frowning.

"And why should I believe you?" Thor asks incredulously, his voice teetering on the edge of forgiveness and spite. Loki, caught up in Sigyn's hardening stare, gazes apologetically at her.

"Because, believe it or not, I _have_ changed, in more ways than most, and someday, I'll prove it to you," he murmurs hoarsely, conviction seeping into his tone, and he clicks off the connection without so much as a second thought, staring at Sigyn as she turns her face away from him.

"I wasn't aware that you still held Amora in such high regards," she whispers, the ghost of jealousy written across her face. Loki lets out a quiet laugh and shrugs.

"The woman is deceitful, I know, but I was once her ally, even her friend; her only friend, if you recall." Sigyn swallows guiltily, looking down at her pale hands to keep herself from looking at him. "She was once a very kind person, very young and naïve and willing to do anything to learn, all too willing to give up her morals, her kindness, even her very soul. She would have killed to make herself powerful, but before all of that, before the magic corrupted her, she was the only companion I had." He looks away, a spark of sadness in his eyes.

"A long, long time ago, I could have believed I loved her, but whatever feelings I had," He swallows nervously before scooting closer to her, ducking his head so that he can meet her eyes, "it was all gone the moment I laid eyes on you. Anything after that, well, that was an aftermath of a very dangerous relationship," he offers, smirking at the last part, as Sigyn manages a small smile.

"So is she your ally, now that she's told you Thanos' secret?" Sigyn inquires, tilting her head at him, angling her face so that it nearly brushes against his own. His eyes light up with mischief.

"I'm not really sure. I just know that Amora doesn't want to end up on the bad end of a deal, and if she betrayed Thanos, she'll surely die. She'll most likely ally herself with us to save her own skin, just as I would have done not so very long ago." He looks down at a fraying piece of leather on his armor, picking at it to distract himself.

"We're not so different, Amora and I," he states, glancing back up at Sigyn to brush a thumb against her knuckles, tracing the shape of her hand. She turns her palm so that it's pressing against his and with her other hand lifts his chin up so that they're exactly face to face, smiling shyly as she blushes, reminding him of the moment she first decided to kiss him, perched atop a railing overlooking a glistening river, sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye as he talked adamantly about his studies. He remembers how she had gripped his face in between her hands, bringing her feather soft lips against his in a heat of the moment decision, and how his lips had tingled when she pulled away, like some electric shock throughout his entire body. He stares at her now, the memory making him smile.

"But we, too, are not so different, Loki." She blushes brightly. "Remember that."

...

But do you, Loki?" Amora asks, her honey tinted hair curling into her face so that it leaves her vibrant eyes shrouded in darkness. He glances at her, holding a finger to a page in his book, and rolls his eyes.

_"Do you love her?"_

_"Why does it matter, Amora? Isn't it rather my business instead of yours?" Loki asks, staring at her with a trace of annoyance lying within his gaze._

_She sees his irritation and quickly leaves her book laying across the desk, rushing over to him to drape her slender arms around his shoulders, her fingers idly playing with a strand of his hair. She leans over next to him, her chest pressed against his back, and rests the side of her face in the crook of his pale neck._

_"I just don't want to see her hurt you, Loki. Already, she has begun a series of changes within you that I see every day. You've become so very cross with me, Master. You're moody, and paranoid, and you think I'm not on your side," she whines, pouting at him as she leaves to move in front of him, taking the book from his hands and setting it down on a nearby table. She climbs up onto his lap and nestles the top of her head beneath his chin as he brings his arms to circle her waist._

_"I'm not turning against you, Amora," he consoles, tilting her chin so that he can finally see the shine of her eyes, and he smiles fondly down at the enchantress. "Love has a tendency to change people, you know. Perhaps," And he twirls a lock of her soft hair around his long finger, "love has changed me for the better, but you refuse to see it." Amora shifts uncomfortably and shakes her head laughing._

_"If you were truly in love, I would not be perched upon your lap like some common whore," she murmurs, craning her neck to kiss the underside of his jaw, and his eyes flutter close._

_"There is a difference between love and lust," he replies, tensing at the sensation of her lips ghosting over his skin with the utmost care._

_"Perhaps, but you forget that you love me , as well, Loki."_

_She slides her hand up his nightclothes to cup the back of his head, pulling it down so that his lips are almost upon hers. He sighs into her skin and his shoulders drop._

_"But it is a different kind of love, my enchantress. Lady Sigyn has my heart, my body, my mind, and my soul. That is all that matters." Amora stretches out against him, her nose brushing his, and smiles lovingly at him._

_"And what do I have?"_

_He looks down at her and frowns sadly, brushing his palm against her tan cheek as her eyelids flutter closed, her long eyelashes kissing the very tops of her cheeks as she sighs into his touch._

_"You have me."_

_And he crushes his lips to hers, quickly forgetting how his heart picks up its beating, like a trapped animal pounding against its cage with all of its strength. That, and the thought of the oh so lovely Lady Sigyn, is forgotten as easily as anything else he's ever done as he pulls Amora closer, caught up in the feel of her body pressed against his._

_..._

_"Would you be so kind as to help me up?" Amora teases, her grin as sharp as knives as she remains sprawled out across his bed, encased within the sheets he refused to sleep in, walking in on her nestled, already naked, inside the comforts of his bedchambers the night before. Loki had sighed and curled up in a desk chair, hoping to squeeze in some late night studying, and Amora had talked relentlessly, futilely trying to entice him into his own bed._

_She sits, now, with the covers pulled up just high enough to cover her chest, and her smile is utterly enchanting as he glances at her._

_"You would think, after I introduced you to the fair Sigyn, that I would be handsomely rewarded for it," she muses, giggling girlishly as she falls back on the pillows. Loki sighs, exasperated, and frowns at the thoughts creeping into his mind._

_Amora, with all of her charming flaws, has quickly become something other than what she was, something different than the sweet, innocent smile he thought so greatly of. Her seductive ways, her tricky advancements, nearly had Loki on edge, and he was already too strained from trying to keep Sigyn and Amora apart, afraid of what the blond sorceress would do to the fragile beauty that walked through his dreams._

_Amora, tired of waiting, wraps a sheet around her lithe frame to saunter over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders like she so very often used to when she would hug him, only now it means something more to her. Loki shrugs off her touch and turns to face her with annoyance, but Amora's face has lost its bright luster, her frown deep and troubled, her eyes shaded with melancholy, and he shakes his head._

_"You love her, and she loves you, and I will never be a part of your life, no more than I am a part of it now."_

_She looks to her bare feet, shaking her head. "I want you to teach me one last spell, before my training is over. One spell and I'll be out of your hair."_

_Loki eyes her suspiciously, searching desperately for that glint of honest affection that had for so long haunted her eyes, but it's gone, just as everything else he ever knew to be true about her is gone, wiped from her mind like it was never there to begin with, and she fakes a smile, the action looking almost painful._

_"What do you say, pet?"_

_Love, after all, does have the power to change people, and he realizes, for the first time, that it found a way to change Amora for the worst._

_Loki can't find the heart to refuse her._

_..._

Thor feels the static on the other end like a knife slicing through his gut and he looks to the sky, the shadows hanging over him like the wispy ends of clouds, and sighs. He clips the communicator back on his belt as Steve pats him on the shoulder, smiling.

"At least he didn't lie, huh?"

Thor gives him a thankful look and returns the smile, lifting his burly arm to grab the Captain's shoulder, like he would grab someone's hand during a handshake, and laughs at his friend with shining eyes.

"My brother has not failed me, it seems," he murmurs joyously, and at the same time finds his face falling with the weight of a sudden frown. "We still have to find a location."

Steve's eyes widen and he nods, turning to look out into some distant place, and turns back around with a smile, his blue eyes shining.

"Don't worry. I think I found a good spot while you were talking," he reassures, walking to the edge of a small cliff they'd wandered onto, and he points to his left.

Thor comes up behind him and smiles in agreement as Steve clicks on his communicator. The mountain, with jagged edges surrounding its flat peak, is small in comparison to the mountain Amora made her home out of, and Thor watches as lightning strikes near the top, flinching with surprise. Since when did lightning strike in the shadow realms? He hears half of a conversation that he missed as he turns to his teammate, brow furrowed.

"Yeah," Steve says, nodding. "We found a spot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

"Seriously, though, what's with the snakes?" Tony asks, angrily staring at Loki as they all trek up the mountain, and the trickster god rolls his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"For the last time, Stark, I sent you there to find a good place to destroy the gem, not to kill you. It's not my fault that you have a tendency to lean against giant mutant snakes." Tony grumbles something inaudible and Loki smirks, stifling a laugh.

Sigyn doesn't look up from where she's stepping and Thor can't help but catch the worried look Loki sends her, his green eyes gleaming with concern. Steve occasionally bumps into Natasha, quickly backing away with mumbled apologies, and Clint rolls his eyes behind her, his arrows held tight against his back. Bruce fights the urge to look behind him, to glance down at the ground with a creeping fear, and swallows loudly, picking up his pace.

A rock slides a few feet behind them, tumbling to its resting spot, and Loki whips around, eyes flicking from side to side, searching for the reason. Sigyn puts a hand on his arm as she climbs a sizable rock and all of the tension in his body goes slack at her touch, turning back around with a paranoid glare at the rock. She gives him a grateful look before glancing back down at her feet and his heart picks up speed, heated blood rushing through his veins.

_"And there you are," Loki murmurs, faking a smile just as Amora glances up at him, the light in her eyes dimmed to a slight hum of life, a book spread open in her lap. She closes it with a loud thud and stands from her seat on the floor. He offers to help her up and she hesitates, her lips parting with indecision, before grasping his hand with her own, her soft skin brushing against his icy fingers as he pulls her to her feet._

_"Thank you. For the spell, I mean," she says, and Loki realizes that her training is done, that she doesn't have to call him 'Master', that she doesn't even have to be here anymore, and finds himself frowning. Amora smiles up at him, like she knows just what he's thinking, and leans in close, her lips touching the shell of his ear._

_"Will you tell me now, Loki, why you are immune to me?"_

_And his heart doesn't pound, and his throat doesn't bob, and his mind doesn't go hazy. Her voice has no effect on him, and from the lack of innocence or from the touch of hatred, Loki isn't sure. He meets her gaze as she pulls away, her eyes swirling with angry colors._

_"No." And then she's gone._

Clint has taken on a slight habit of panting and Natasha turns around to give him a reassuring smile.

"Almost there, Barton. Almost there."

He smiles back at her, despite the strain in his eyes or the sweat on his face. Sigyn's hair is matted to her forehead and the thundering wind makes things no better as they fight against it. Thor lifts his hammer to ward it away, but Loki stops his arm with a careful hand.

"You'll need your strength later," he warns, and Thor lets his arm fall with a worried glance in his brother's direction, frowning deeply, his brows furrowed in confusion, another rock sliding behind them, coupled with a small curse that no one cares to hear.

...

_When Loki finally sees Amora again, quite a few years later, he has to stop to still his quickly pounding heart._

_She is vicious, her cherry stained lips curved up at the corners, her ocean eyes hollow as they stare at him from across the dining hall. Her silken curls fall upon her shoulders in thick, heavy locks, accentuating her smooth, bronzed skin as she twists through the crowd, her body curving and winding like a blade of grass as it falls victim to the wind. He can hear her tempestuous voice from where he stands, rooted to the spot, and sighs at the sound, so very much like the kiss of waves as they slide over his skin._

_Her emerald dress is snug in all the right places, so different from the loose gowns she used to wear, her ivy heels clicking against the marble floor as she glides over to him, ignoring the people around her like they are no more than ants beneath her shoe._

_Her gaze is icy when he finally gives it notice, glinting in the candlelight as it's cast down from the elaborate hanging chandeliers, and any trace of love is long gone from her, the ghost of affection wiped from her face entirely._

_"Loki," she purrs, and he has never felt a swell of panic so great as in that moment in all of the days after._

_..._

Perhaps one of Bruce's greatest fears is heights.

Heights never end in anything good. Look at all of those dead skydivers, or broken bungie cords, or malfunctioning Superman rides. Heights are a killer, and right now, he's staring down at a whole landscape, mountains jutting out into the cloudy sky.

At the top of the tallest mountain, so close to the edge that he locks his knees, hoping it'll stop him from falling, stands Bruce, taking measured breaths as he turns to the rest of the group, dutifully ignoring the ground below or the distance from there to here. Tony smirks at his friend as Loki looks to the sky, his healed mouth twisted up into a grimace. A shadow appears in the corner of his eye and he turns, sharply twisting to catch it, but it's gone in a blink.

Loki stares at the spot for a long time, trying to decide if his mind is playing tricks on him, before glancing at Sigyn, her pale hand clasped around the jewel at her throat as she swallows nervously. She meets his stare with something akin to affection before looking away, to where Thor is staring up at the sky with a puzzled expression.

"Let's get this over with," Natasha huffs, wrapping her jacket more securely around her as a howling gust of wind nearly knocks them all over.

Sigyn hurriedly unclasps her necklace and sets it in Loki's waiting palm, his smooth fingers sliding over it with care. Loki places it on a small rock beside him and gestures to Thor's hammer, a sickly looking smile plastered on his face as his emerald eyes flicker up to the raging clouds, electric lines of golden light ripping through the sky.

"You need enough lightning," Loki murmurs.

Thor lifts Mjolnir into the air with ease, bringing it down on the jewel with jagged lightning at the end just as a thundering boom sounds all around them, a giant wave of energy bursting down from the sky, knocking them all off of their feet. Sigyn goes flying into the air, arms flailing, and sails over the edge of the mountain, screaming at the top of her lungs, trying to summon enough dark magic to save herself.

"Sigyn!" Loki yells, scrambling to the edge after her, sliding down the side of the cliff, the sharp edges of rocks cutting into his armor and slicing his skin open, grimacing as he reaches out to grab her hand. He catches her just before her head can collide with a misplaced rock, the impact nearly pulling his shoulder out of its socket, and grunts as he pulls her up against him, pressing her to his chest to keep her steady as her legs dangle beneath her, limply hanging above the graveled ground below. Loki clutches a foothold for dear life, his knuckles whiter than paper, and grinds his teeth together to keep from moving, concentrating solely on keeping Sigyn aloft.

"Loki," she whimpers, pain slicing through her leg as a rock digs into her thigh, and the sticky trickle of blood leaves a warm trail past her knee.

"I've got you," he says, his arm firmly wrapped about her waist, his face glistening with sweat as he strains to hold on, pain lacing through his torso as a muscle tears. "I've got you, Sigyn. I won't let you fall."

...

Thor is the first to find his footing, pushing himself up as the Captain winces in pain, rubbing at his cut knee. Clint and Natasha lean on each other as Natasha lends a hand to Bruce, who searches for his lost glasses with irritation, and Tony crawls to all fours, his armor scratched, muttering about a brand new paint job.

"What _the hell_ was that, Thor?!" Steve complains, glaring at the god with annoyance. Thor shrugs, confused, and looks at the sky in puzzlement.

"It wasn't me, Captain." He turns, his gaze worriedly scanning the people around him, and breaks out into a run, rushing to the edge of the mountain.

"Loki!"

He starts to climb over the side, but they all hurry over to stop him, grabbing his shoulders and arms. "Thor, no! Are you crazy?" Tony shouts, pulling Thor back.

"You'll fall," Bruce warns, and is met with an icy glare from the thunder god. "You mean, like Loki and Sigyn have?"

Thor asks, his voice laced with steel, and Bruce releases his friend with concern, throwing his own gaze down the side of the mountain, spotting two figures a ways down, precariously dangling in the air.

"I must get them. They'll fal-"

And then another wave hits them, sending them toppling backwards, and Bruce's head hits Tony's chest plate with a crack as he moans in pain. A booming stomp, louder than thunder and sharper than lightning, vibrates through the ground, and Thor's eyes slide over to the necklace, which is caught on the jagged edge of a rock as the wind tosses the jewel into the air, anchored to the side of the cliff.

He lets his gaze rise until he's met with two armored boots, the golden shine of the plates reflecting in Thor's blue gaze, and his eyes widen at what he sees.

...

Loki cries out in pain as Sigyn's nails dig into the soft spot between his armor, and she regretfully murmurs her apologies, clinging to him with teary eyes as she tries not to kick her feet. He screws his eyes shut as the rock he clings to pierces his gloves, stabbing his hand. Near black blood oozes down his arm and through his armor, making Sigyn gasp as she notices his skin shifting from pale to blue, back and forth.

"Just calm yourself, Loki," she rasps, her light hair shrouding her eyes as she stares up at him, but a misplaced breeze blows the hair out of her face.

With it comes a thick purple haze, wispy clouds of magic curling around them as they're lifted to a stable spot on the mountain side. Loki collapses there, panting from the exertion, and Sigyn loops an arm under his to pull him up, ignoring his protests as she hauls him to his feet.

"We must get back to the others," she whispers, and the magic dissipates in the air, sighing around them. "And thank you, for that," Sigyn offers, smiling with relief. Loki looks down at her, his green eyes fighting back that crimson shine, and he frowns.

"It wasn't me." At that, Sigyn hurries to pull him along, muttering about dangerous things and how they should return to their team, and she limps against him as they make their way back up, almost getting knocked over by a harsh vibration beneath them, followed by a raging battle cry, and Loki stops dead.

"What was that?" Sigyn asks worriedly, and Loki pulls her closer to him, his hand on her hip for support as he shakes his head with anxious fear, and the smell of it lies acrid on the wind.

"He's come for me," he whispers, as if it's a rotten secret, and starts to limp along with her as they climb.

"Who?"

"Thanos."

And Sigyn can't find the willpower to calm the frantic plummet her stomach makes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please R&R! :)


	9. Chapter 9

Tony has seen a lot of things, and more of those particular things than any one man, but to stand a witness as Thor is thrown clean over the mountain is a whole different ballpark, and he has to take a breath to make sure he didn't just imagine it.

But Thor can fly, he thinks, and it'll be ok.

Steve is a different story, with his shield held in front of him as if to ward off evil, and Thanos brings his fist down onto it, the fist that's securely wrapped up within the Gauntlet, and both men go flying backwards, a wave of energy emitting from the impact, and Tony clutches to Bruce to keep him from falling off the cliff, his eyelids drooping with sleep. Clint stealthily crawls over to them, flanked by Natasha as she shoots at Thanos, and he slaps Bruce hard across the face.

"Hey, man! He already got knocked out. Do you really thing beating him up more is going to help him any?" Tony asks, incredulous, and Bruce takes a big breath as his eyes fly open.

Clint smirks at Tony and pulls an arrow from its holster, letting one fly into the soft looking spot between Thanos' armor as Thor comes flying into the alien, Mjolnir held straight in front of him, like all the force of a tidal wave. Thanos rips the arrow out of his arm and kicks Steve, sending him flying into Tony, and Bruce smiles as his eyes turn green. Natasha looks around her frantically and shakes her head, her red curls bouncing.

"Bruce, I don't think going green is a good idea right now. We're in a tiny spot here, and no one wants to be run off the mountain," she warns, but he's already past listening to her, and Tony shrugs off the Captain as he aims at anything worth shooting, firing off his lasers as he flies into the air.

Steve and Natasha run at the alien on both sides, but both are flung back by his burly arm, and Thor's hammer connects with Thanos' violet hued chin as his vibrant blue eyes fall on the god with malice. Thanos sends a burst of magic at Tony, whose small missiles seem to annoy the alien, and Tony plummets to the ground, like gravity just decided to work against him in all the wrong ways.

Tendrils of blue magic wrap around his arms, binding them to the ground, and he squirms to get out of their grip, grunting in aggravation as Steve lands beside him, the same binds on his arms and legs, his shield tumbling down the mountain side. Clint fires another arrow into Thanos' back and is hit across the face with a thick hand, stumbling backwards before he falls, dazed. Natasha leaps onto Thanos' shoulders, desperately grasping at the golden armor there for purchase, and he throws his head back to smash her nose, and she falls, her face bloody.

"Tasha!" Clint shouts, and he hurries over to her, blinking rapidly to clear his head of the odd haze.

Bruce-or Hulk- goes ramming into Thanos, punching him over and over in the chest, denting the golden armor there, before Thanos' slams his elbow into Hulk's face, shoving him off of the mountain with near ease. Thor yells as he brings his hammer down on Thanos' armor, but he brings his hand up to grip Thor's shoulder, and he squeezes with all of his strength, the crack of bones echoing in the air, and Thor cries out in pain as he hits Thanos in the chest, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Thanos curls his hand in a fist and puts all of his magic into the punch, slamming his hand down onto Thor.

But Loki is there, materializing out of thin air just as Sigyn climbs back up onto the mountain top, and he sends a bolt of magic into Thanos' fist, knocking him back and away from Thor's near prone body. Loki leans down over Thor, checking to make sure he's alive, before summoning his staff, the blue and green flash of it mixing together to nearly blind Clint as he looks away.

"Where will you run, Laufeyson?" Thanos roars, his booming voice making the ground beneath them tremble. "Will you fight and die with your comrades, or run?"

Loki answers with another burst of magic, which Thanos deflects with the Gauntlet, laughing at the trickster.

"You will be sorry, traitor," Thanos growls, and he launches himself at Loki, whose eyes flash red just as his skin drowns in deep blue, and cold wind swirls around them, daggers of ice forming around Loki's hands as he tries to stab at Thanos' middle, elbowing him in the face as they tumble across the top of the cliff.

Loki's staff skids to where Natasha lies, unconscious, and Clint takes it and rams it into Thanos' back, smirking at the gasp of pain the alien makes, just before being flung backwards by an invisible force of his magic. The blue wisps wrap around him and he casts a glance over to Tony and Steve, their faces pained as the blue tendrils solidify, sharp barbs snaking up them as they tighten.

Steve grunts as they cut into his flesh and Tony worriedly looks on as they pierce through his hollow armor, dreadfully anticipating the moment they touch his skin. Clint watches with his own fear as the barbs dig into his skin and he tries to wake Natasha with his foot, nudging her every now and then. The Hulk roars from somewhere below, no doubt trying to barrel up the steep mountain side, and Steve hears a rock slide just behind them as a shadow appears, an armored arm shooting out to cut their restraints, but Loki's shout of pain stops them, and they slink back into the cover of shadows.

Tony yells after them with a grimace and angrily pulls at the bonds, his brown eyes furious.

Loki kicks Thanos off of him and gasps at the deep cut in his side, the cut that reaches far past his thick armor and grazes the light bones beneath his skin, and he moans in pain as he pulls himself up, reaching for his staff, but it isn't there, and he glances up to see Thanos running at him, Loki's staff in his hands, the sharp edge of a blade aimed directly for his gut.

...

A figure shoots out in front of him, wisps of purple magic curling at their feet, the feet that rest within armored boots that climb up to slender knees, covered in tanned skin. Honey colored hair, hair so much like sunshine brushing against him for the very first time, kisses the tops of her slim shoulders, ivy armor covering every inch of her, her green dress billowing in the wind, dots of crimson blood dripping down its silky surface.

Crimson, like her lips, lips that used to kiss him with all the fervor of a secret lover, giggling in shadowed corridors as he pressed closer to her.

Crimson, like the blush across her cheeks when he smiled at her, laughing at one of her ill-timed jokes that she learned from him, her eyes alight with glee.

Crimson, like the suppressed anger upon her face when he'd refuse her, or even the disappointed pout in her eyes when she turned away to leave.

Crimson, because the deadly blade of his staff is lodged just above her middle, her back hunched over it as if to protect her gaping wound, and the choking sounds that bubble up from her throat are made even worse by the blood that trickles from the corner of her mouth, glistening as it makes a trail down her chin.

Thanos twists the staff, a sickening crack sounding as the tip of the blade breaks off into her chest, and he throws it to the ground, an evil smile upon his face as he turns to finish off Clint, who's nearly free of his mystifying bonds.

Loki can barely feel the beat of his heart, or the rush of his blood, or the sound of his breathing, because all he knows is Amora.

 _Amora_ , as she tumbles to the ground, limply falling onto jagged rocks that could do her no more harm than what's already been done. _Amora,_ as Loki scrambles over to her, carefully lifting her into his arms as he pulls her close, shaking his head with sorrow, the deep red of his eyes fading as her skin warms him.

_Loki has never hated books so much as in that moment, the front cover of one shielding her face from his curious gaze. He could twist and turn all he wanted, but to no avail. Her face would forever remain a mystery, framed by golden hair that outshone any sunrise he's ever known, her tawny skin bright in the dim candlelight of the royal library._

_He could be snobby, like Thor, and demand that she leave, or he could be a gentleman, like he knows he is, and let her stay, even if only for a glance at her face. As if reading his mind, she looks up, a finger on the page, and Loki can't quite find the gentlemanly will to avert his gaze, and so he stares, dumbstruck, at this girl, whose upturned lips touch his heart in a way nothing else ever could._

_Her eyes, so much like the deep waters surrounding Asgard, are as clear as the thoughts behind them, and he finds himself smiling, her rosy cheeks glowing at his attention. Her light eyelashes kiss the tops of her cheeks when she looks down, shyly trying to distract herself with her book, but Loki's crooked smile catches her attention as he leans over across the small table, his green eyes shining._

_"I'm Loki. And you are?" She glances up at him and blushes even harder, wrapping a stray strand of blonde curls around her finger as he watches, mesmerized._

_"_ _Amora, my Prince. My name is Amora," she murmurs lowly, her youthful smile making his own widen, and for the first time since Loki can remember, he thinks that he's found a friend in the girl innocently sneaking glances at him from where she sits, his heart picking up speed as she giggles at him, the melody of it etched into his every memory._

Amora coughs against him and blood splashes onto his armor as he looks down at her, rocking her body back and forth, just like if they were children, and he buries his bloodied face into her hair, his shoulders shaking with grief. She trembles in his arms and he pulls back just far enough to see her face, ignoring the fact that Thor's up and fighting in front of them, Clint shooting arrows as fast as he can along with his teammate.

Loki covers her wound with his hand, futilely trying to quell the outpour of blood, and the tears in his eyes nearly make his vision swim. Sigyn watches, huddled at the corner of the mountain, in complete shock, devastation crawling into her mirrored gaze, her body frozen with fear. Amora's lips shine brighter than usual, and her eyes are vivid, and her cheeks are nearly grey from blood loss, and Loki leans over her with the brightest fear in his emerald gaze, the salty taste of tears invading his mouth as they drip over his chin. Past the gurgling noise that makes his skin crawl, and past the pained hiccups, he can just barely make out a small whisper, a slight sigh from her lips.

"I truly loved you," she whispers hoarsely, her body twitching with convulsions as he tightens his grip around her, and in her eyes he sees laughter.

He sees midnight smiles and drunken dances.

He sees warm hands and nightmares chased away with soothing words.

He sees moonlit faces and encompassing hugs, lessons gone wrong and jokes gone right.

He sees a love so strong that even years of hatred could not dispel it, and a love that had the power to destroy.

In her eyes, he sees himself, as she saw him so many years ago, and the image makes him cry harder, his one friend fading in his arms as she manages a weak smile, gazing up at him just like she always wanted to.

Sigyn watches with a fresh wave of grief as Loki takes Amora's hand, brushing his thumb over her pale knuckles, and brings his lips down to her forehead, kissing away the blood there, and he rests his head against her skin, closing his eyes against the hot burn of new tears, and listens as her breath catches, her hand tightly clutching his as she shakes, and he pulls away just long enough to watch the shine, the shine he fell in love with so many years ago, holed up in a library as she giggled at him, fade into a dimly burning ember, her eyelids falling shut just as her body goes slack, and Loki feels a part of himself die along with her.

...

To say the least, there is an indignant rage within Clint, a flaring thing of dangerous anger, and as he shoots an arrow into Thanos' leg, he feels a triumphant smirk spread across his face at the alien's howl of pain. He carefully leaps over Natasha to find a better spot and sparingly allows himself a glance at her battered face, her pale eyelids closed. A sting of worry weaves its way into his heart before Thanos swivels, swinging his arm into Clint's stomach, and the archer grunts in pain as he falls backward.

Thor is just about to ram his hammer into Thanos' unguarded neck, but the Hulk comes rushing over the mountain, a blur of green, and roars as he grabs each corner of the alien's chest armor to shake it violently, ripping it clean in two. Thanos head butts Hulk, hard, and they both go stumbling back, dazed for only a moment before Hulk starts to run at him again, and Thanos grabs Loki's staff to whip him across the face with it.

Loki tenderly sets Amora down, tears drying on his cheeks, and gently brushes a bloodied strand of hair, like rusted gold, behind her ear, running his finger down the shape of her face as he gazes wistfully down at the Enchantress, carefully plucking the broken blade from the red flesh of her wound, shaking slightly as he cleans it off on his shirt sleeve, his fingers working at a delayed pace.

He summons enough magic to recreate the staff, the blade growing longer and repairing itself in seconds, and he starts to pick himself up, ready to kill Thanos with his bare hands, before Sigyn's eyes widen in thought as she glances at Thanos, who slides past the oncoming Hulk with ease as he makes his way to the gem, still hanging off the edge of the mountain.

She scrambles to her feet, grabbing the necklace tightly in her hand, before holding it up so that the lone gem dangles in the wind, placed so that all can see it. Thanos stops, just as everyone else does, and Tony and Steve strain to see her from the ground, silently struggling with their bonds as Natasha moans, starting to surface from her muddled slumber.

"Wait!" Sigyn exclaims, her light voice echoing like thunder, and Thanos smiles viciously as her, Loki's eyes as round as saucers as he shakes his head at her from behind the alien, his feet touching Amora's shoulders as she lies, lifeless, upon the rocky ground.

"And what are you doing, girl?" Thanos asks, laughing at her as he reaches for the jewel, and she yanks it from his grasp.

"You would not want this gem, Thanos. Activating the Infinity Gauntlet will gain you nothing, nothing at all," she murmurs, nearly to herself, and his blue eyes shine vibrantly with the lust for power as he grabs her shoulders harshly, and she ignores the stabs of pain in her torso as he squeezes. She holds tight to the necklace and continues on, despite the discomfort, and keeps the necklace just away from his reach.

"The gem and I are linked," she lies smoothly, and watches in small triumph as Thanos falters, the smile on his lips twitching, and Loki's eyes narrow, "Our energies are intertwined. My own essence is too weak to withstand the jewel's suppressed power, and should you use the gem to activate the Gauntlet, that weakness will hinder whatever power may come, and eventually, if not immediately, that insufficiency will render the Gauntlet unstable, and it will be destroyed."

Thanos gives her a skeptical glance, full of hesitation and that same insatiable lust, before he wraps a large hand around her throat, holding the entirety of it in his grip, and Loki feels his breathing stop with fear as Thanos squeezes, picking Sigyn up off of the ground, her feet dangling above the mountain as she fights to stay calm.

"There is no lie you could put forth that would stop me," Thanos mutters angrily, and he lifts her higher, just above his head, and watches as her eyes widen with pain, laughing at her as he does, "And if your energies were so _intertwined_ , why would you come up here to destroy the very thing that you're supposedly linked to?"

Sigyn forces a smile onto her face and watches as his own falls, feeling the heavy warmth of darkness close in on her as her vision dims, spots dotting everything.

"I believe in sacrifice," she whispers faintly, and no one catches the look Thor gives his brother as Loki tightens his grasp on the staff, calling to him all of the magic he's ever learned, his eyes darkening as his skin is smothered in runes of blue, a power within him that he'd never known centering and strengthening.

Thor raises his hammer, looking to the skies as he searches for the right amount of energy, and Thanos rips the necklace out of Sigyn's hand just before her eyes roll back in her head, her chin resting limp against his hand as her body relaxes, and he releases her, her head connecting with the hard ground.

Instantly, Loki runs, faster than even a frost giant can run, at Thanos, his staff held out in front of him as it glints with green light, vivid wisps of magic embracing him as he yells to Thor, who jumps into the air, summoning lightning and thunder and energy that glows blue, rushing down at the alien as Loki deflects Thanos' magic with ease, using his weapon like a bat as the energy centers at the blade, swirling around the staff as it solidifies.

Thor brings his hammer down just as Loki's blade connects with Thanos' neck, and a blast of blue light sends both brothers into the air, flung backwards as they go sailing over the mountain's edge, and Thor holds Mojlnir out in front of him as he flies to his brother, catching him as he falls, and they hurry back to the top, where Clint is helping Natasha up as Tony cuts through one of Steve's bonds, freeing his own leg with his other laser.

Hulk huffs angrily at the singed patch of ground where Thanos had been standing, and Loki notices the crumbling pieces of the Gauntlet, the gems within obliterated, just as the green gem that sparkles upon the ground is blown away to ash in the harsh wind.

The heady scent of smoke and fire swirls through the air, and Sigyn, lying prone and limp beside the blackened earth, drowns in images, her eyelids fluttering weakly as she sees Amora, small and smiling and innocent, and Loki, with dark eyes and sharp smiles and big secrets, trying to show Amora his greatest prank. She sees water and sunshine and bright colors of emerald and silver, and moans softly as she feels the press of hands on her, her throat throbbing in pain, and the comforting pull of arms around her lulls Sigyn into a dreamless slumber.

...

The grave itself is simple, a mere mound of freshly dug earth overlooking the golden beauty of Asgard, and Loki lets a handful of dirt fall back on the pile, sighing as he lets his eyes roam to the stone, tall and towering over the mound.

It's black, obsidian rock that shines as it basks in the everlasting sunshine, and the green and purple tendrils of ice captured within it glisten like diamonds.

A name, scrawled in vivid blue marble, shines within the stone, and he sighs as memories overtake him.

_Amora._

And perhaps a fitting epitaph, one of lovely words and a warrior's praise, would have befitted her in someone else's eyes, but not in Loki's.

It hadn't taken long, really, to sum up Amora in a single word, a word filled with smiles and warmth and care and laughter, and Loki leans forward to run his finger over it, blinking as tears run down his cheeks.

_Amora._

_Love._

Because Amora, for all of her faults and weaknesses and mistakes, _was_ love, in all of its essence and creation.

She was love, the kind that took you and seized you and held you beneath the surface, keeping you rooted to a single person because your heart was too weak to leave.

She was love, the kind that ripped your heart out and stomped on it, that took the tears from your eyes and made them feel like acid upon your face, a pain so great that it could kill you.

She was love, the kind that held you within the heavens, the tender caress of an angel's wings around you, a contentment so alive that it took on a life of its own.

She was love, the kind of bitterness that only hardened over time, a blackened heart filled with the echo of such sweet devotion.

She was love, the kind that never forgot a single moment, a sacrifice offered without a moment's hesitation, all because of one sweetly cherished memory.

Loki hears the rambunctious chatter of the Avengers as it drifts through the wind; Natasha's low murmurs to Clint, the clink of glasses as Tony gets even more intoxicated, Pepper's half-hearted admonishing, Bruce's unguarded laughter as Steve tells him an entertaining story about a certain Howard Stark, and Thor's booming laughter as he talks with Jane.

The feast is surely a good one, he thinks, and one he'll join in a moment. His heart, still raw with grief, isn't ready to leave this grave, and Odin's echoing voice brings a sensation with it, one that makes Loki want to curl in on himself and beg for his father's forgiveness, even though it's already been given.

Forgiveness.

Perhaps that's what Loki's wanted for so long, or maybe he's wanted vengeance , or even an apology. Maybe he just wants to see Frigga's smile one last time.

He's not entirely sure what he wants, really, until Sigyn walks up beside him, looking sadly down at the grave in front of them, and the trees sigh around them, swaying in the wind. The purple bruises on her throat are nearly healed, and there's a new necklace there, as well.

It's a frozen raindrop, one that Loki had carefully created, and a promise.

A promise to be better, to love and laugh and simply _let go_.

A promise to accept himself and what he's done, to come to terms with his own family.

A promise to live as the water does; freely and wonderfully, never knowing when someone might look in on such a moment to capture it, a whole lifetime of love and death and happiness and sorrow, wrapped up in a single instant.

Loki doesn't know what he wants, of course, until Sigyn glances at him, smiling with that knowing glint in her reflective eyes, her silver hair blowing past her, and he takes her in his arms, wrapping her within his embrace, her lips soft against his own as he kisses her; a moment filled with all the love and happiness and memories and simple _life_ that he's ever known, and the amazingly humble beauty of it takes his breath away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END. 
> 
> Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)  
> All rights go to their respective owners.


End file.
